FARM GRASSES 
^UNITED SMES 



WILLIAM JASPER SPHIMAN 



Class 

Book 

GpightN?.- 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



FARM GRASSES 

of the UNITED STATES 



Farm Grasses 

if the UNITED STATES 



A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE GRASS 
CROP, SEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF 
MEADOWS AND PASTURES, DESCRIPTIONS 
OF THE BEST VARIETIES, THE SEED AND 
ITS IMPURITIES, GRASSES FOR SPECIAL 
CONDITIONS, ETC., ETC. .• .• .• .• 



By 

WILLIAM JASPER SPILLMAN 

Agrostologist f Bureau of Plant Industry^ United States Department of 
Agriculture ; In Charge of Grass and Forage Plant Investigations 
Chairman of Committee in Charge of Farm Management 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

LONDON 

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Limited 
1905 



S 7 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS ' 
Two Copies KeceivbC! 

FEB 10 1905 

' COPY B. 

~= , 



Copyright, 1904 
BY ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 



Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Preface . . xiii 

I. The Grass Crop ....... i 

II. Meadows and Pastures ...... 14 

III. Meadows and Pastures {Continued) ... 26 

IV. Meadows and Pastures {Concluded) . . . 42 
V. The Seed . 56 

VI. Timothy . . . . . . .- 75 

VII. The Blue-grasses ....... 90 

VIII. The Millets 103 

IX. Two Prominent Southern Grasses . . . 125 

X. Redtop and Orchard-grass ..... 146 

XI. Brome-grass {Bromus inermis) .... 164 

XII. Grasses of Minor Importance .... 176 

XIII. Grasses for Special Conditions .... 192 

XIV. Lawns and Lawn-making . . . . 200 
XV. Miscellany 217 

Index 243 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Mowing the Lawn .... Frontispiece 

1. Percentage of Improved Land Devoted to Hay and 

Forage. (Compiled from Census of 1900) . 

2. Grain (Including Cow-peas) Cut Green for Hay. 

Each dot represents 10,000 acres. (Compiled from 
Census of 1900) ....... 

3. Wild, Salt, and Marsh Grasses Cut for Hay. Each 

dot represents 10,000 acres. (Compiled from Cen- 
sus of 1900) ... . . - . 

4. Haying Scene in Nova Scotia 

5. Rake for Moving Hay-cocks to Stack . 

6. Hay-stack Made too Flat 

7. Hay-derrick in Common Use in Utah 

8. Quack-grass (Agropyron repens). A bad weed in the 

Northern States . 

9. Production of Grass-seed in the United States. (Com- 

piled from Census of 1900.) Each dot represents 
10,000 bushels. Three counties not shown on the 
map; each produce approximately 10,000 bushels 
of grass-seed; they are Linn County, Oregon; 
Rock Bridge County, Virginia; and Salem County, 
New Jersey ........ 

10. Seeds of Standard Grasses. a y Meadow-fescue; 6, 
English Rye-grass; c, Italian Rye-grass; d, Tim- 
othy; e, Redtop in the chaff; /, Redtop, chaff re- 
moved ; g, Rhode Island Bent; h, Orchard-grass. 
(G. H. Hicks, Year-book, Department of Agricul- 
ture, 1898) 



13 
35 
37 
38 
39 

50 



57 



5S 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIG. PAGE 

11. Seeds of Standard Grasses, a, Rescue-grass ; b, Texas 

Blue-grass; c, Chess, or Cheat; d y Canada Blue- 
grass; e, Bromus inermis; f, Kentucky Blue-grass. 
(G. H. Hicks, Year-book, Department of Agricul- 
ture, 1898) 5g 

12. Gathering Kentucky Blue-grass Seed near Lexington, 

Kentucky. (From Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, United States Department of Agriculture) 61 

13. Curing Kentucky Blue-grass Seed Outdoors. 50,000 

bushels in one curing-bin. (From Bulletin 19, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture) 63 

14. Weed Seeds, a, Pepper-grass {Lepidium virginicum)\ 

b, Slender Rush (/uncus tenuis); c, Velvet-grass 
(Holcus lanatus)\ d, Five-finger (Potentilla mons- 
peliensis)\ e, Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucan- 
themum)\ f, Sorrel (Rumex acetosella)\ g, False Flax 
(Camelina sativa)\ h> Canada Thistle (Carduus ar- 
vensis) . . . . . . . .. 67 

15. Home-made Seed-tester, a, Closed; b, Open. (From 

Farmers' Bulletin 194, United States Department 

of Agriculture) 73 

16. Timothy ......... 76 

17. Distribution of " Other Tame Grasses," mostly Tim- 

othy. (Compiled from Census of 1900.) Each 
large dot represents a county producing more than 
5,000 acres. The smaller dots represent 1,000 
acres each ......... 7^ 

18. Kentucky Blue-grass 91 

19. Distribution of Kentucky Blue-grass. Each dot rep- 

resents a correspondent reporting blue-grass im- 
portant in his section 94 



ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

FIG. PAGE 

20. Acreage of Millet Hay. (Compiled from Census of 

1900.) Each dot represents 1,000 acres . . . 105 

21. Typical Form of Foxtail Millet 112 

22. Broom-corn Millet 115 

23. Barn-yard Grass. A representative of the Japanese 

millets .117 

24. Bermuda Grass ........ 126 

25. Distribution of Bermuda Grass. Each dot represents 

a correspondent reporting Bermuda Grass important 

in his locality .... .... 128 

26. Plat of Bermuda Grass in Grass-garden at Wash- 

ington, D.C. (United States Department of Agri- 
culture) . -. . . . . . . . 129 

27. Johnson Grass ........ 138 

28. Distribution of Johnson Grass. Each dot represents 

a correspondent reporting Johnson Grass important 

in his locality ........ 145 

29. Redtop, or Herd's Grass (Agrostis alba) . . . 147 
J 30. Distribution of Redtop. Each dot represents a corre- 
spondent reporting this grass important . . 149 

31. Orchard-grass {Dactylis glomerata). Cocksfoot of the 

English . .155 

32. Sod of Orchard-grass. Showing its bunchy character 15S 

33. Distribution of Orchard-grass. Each dot represents 

a correspondent reporting this grass important . 161 



34. Brome-grass {Bromas inermis) ..... 165 

35. Distribution of Brome-grass. Each dot representing 

a correspondent reporting it important . . . 167 

36. Chess, or Cheat (B vomits St cliIdius) . . . .172 

37. Rescue-grass (Brovn/s unioleides) .... 174 

38. Crab-grass ......... 1S4 



xii 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIG. PAGE 

39. Distribution of Crab-grass. Each dot representing a 

correspondent reporting this grass important . 186 

40. Distribution of Carpet-grass 188 

41. Plat of Bluestem {Agropyron occideittale) in Grass- 

garden at Washington, D. C. (United States De- 
partment of Agriculture) ..... 190 

42. Seaside Blue-grass (Poa macrant/ia), near Astoria, 

Oregon. Protecting sand-dune from erosion by 

the wind ......... 195 

43. Typical View on Ranges of the West. Showing Ely- 

mus condensatus in low alkaline soil . . . 199 

44. Greensward in Public Gordens, Boston, Mass. . 212 

45. Lawn-mowers, or Turf-makers, in Druid Hill Park, 

Baltimore, Md. 213 

46. Varieties of Timothy 230 

47. Varieties of Timothy . 231 

4S. Improved Varieties of Brome-grass .... 233 

49. Penicillaria, or Pearl Millet ..... 235 

50. A Spike . 237 

51. A Spikelet . . . . . ... . . 237 

52. A Panicle 239 

53. Parts of a Single Floret 241 

54. Showing Action of Pollen . . . . . . 241 



PREFACE 



n preparing this volume the objedl has been 
to present, in connected form, the main facts 
concerning the grasses grown on American 
farms — in so far, at least, as these fadls are of 
interest to the farmer. Adtual practice in grass grow- 
ing has been set forth wherever information concern- 
ing it has been available. The writer has attempted 
to view every phase of the subject from the farmer's 
standpoint — with what measure of success the reader 
must judge for himself. 

The country may be divided into four regions, each 
of which presents a different set of problems. In 
the region of timothy, clover, and blue-grass, grass 
problems are comparatively unimportant; they relate 
mainly to methods of growing and utilizing well-known 
grasses, and to methods of improving these grasses by 
separating them into their constituent varieties and 
selecting out the best. This region covers the North- 
eastern quarter of the country, and certain localities in 
the West and the Middle South. In the South, while 
excellent grasses are not wanting, it happens that most 
of the grasses best adapted to the region possess char- 
acteristics which render their management on the farm 
a matter of much difficulty. This subject is discussed 
at length in the chapter on Bermuda and Johnson 
grasses. Grasses having fewer objectionable features 

xiii 




xiv 



PREFACE 



are much sought after by Southern farmers, and some 
suggestions are made in the text concerning hay and 
pasture plants worthy of trial. Methods of fitting 
grass crops into Southern cropping systems constitute 
another important problem which the farmer must 
work out largely for himself. The best we can do for 
him in this line is to give him the benefit of the expe- 
rience of the most progressive of his fellows. This 
the writer has attempted to do. 

On the irrigated lands of the West, farmers are not 
particularly concerned about grass problems, except 
where alkali has begun to appear. But there are im- 
mense areas in the West at present unutilized, except 
in the primitive fashion of the herdsman on the open 
range, on which the problem is to find grasses that 
will produce a crop under arid or semi-arid conditions. 
In so far as the solution of this difficulty has been ac- 
complished, the results are set forth in discussing the 
individual grasses. Attention is called to investiga- 
tions now in progress with a view to finding other 
grasses adapted to these hard conditions. 

The chapter on seeds was contributed by Mr. Edgar 
Brown, in charge of the Seed Laboratory of the United 
States Department of Agriculture. 

The chapter on " Lawns and Lawn-making" was 
prepared by Mr. C. R. Ball, of the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture. 

The following acknowledgments, in addition to 
those already given, are due for illustrations used: 

Fig« 13 — Pieters & Brown, Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, U. S. D. A. 

Fig. 14 — Pieters & Brown, Bulletin 19, Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, U. S. D. A. 



PREFACE 



XV 



Fig. 15 — Pieters, Farmers' Bulletin 123, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 21 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 21, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 23 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 14, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 24 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. A. 
•Fig. 27— Tracy, Agros. Bulletin 15, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 29 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 17, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 31 — Scribner. Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 32 — Scribner, Year-book 1897, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 34 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 36— Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 37 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 7, U. S. D. A. 
Fig. 38 — Scribner, Agros. Bulletin 17, U. S. D. A. 

W. J. Spiixman 

Bureau of Plant Industry 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905. 



FARM GRASSES 

OF THE UNITED STATES 



I 

THE GRASS CROP 

HE word 1 ' grass ' ' is used in two senses. Popu- 
larly it is applied to those plants that furnish 
hay and pasture. In this sense it includes 
the clovers, alfalfa, the vetches, spurry, and 
other plants belonging to various families. Botanic- 
ally the term is applied only to representatives of a 
single family, known to botanists as the GraminecB, or 
true grasses. In this volume, in order to avoid bur- 
densome phraseology, the word is sometimes used in 
the one sense and sometimes in the other, but the con- 
text will always indicate the meaning intended. In 
the present chapter the term is made to include those 
plants which are generally grown for hay and pasture 
purposes. 

According to the Census of 1900, about 18 percent, 
of the total area of the United States is classed as im- 
proved land. This does not take into account Alaska 
or our insular possessions. This 18 per cent, amounts 
to 414,000,000 acres. Of this, only 289,000,000 is de- 
voted to harvested crops, including some 15,000,000 
acres of wild grasses cut for hay. This leaves about 




2 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

1 25,000,000 acres of improved land devoted to orchards, 
woodlands, and pastures. Since practically all the 
improved woodland is pastured, and since the area in 
orchards is relatively very small, it is safe to say that 
at least 120,000,000 acres of this area is grass-land 
used for pasture purposes. Of the harvested crops, 
about 59,000,000 acres is devoted to hay. It is thus 
seen that the ha}' crop occupies over 22 per cent, of all 
land from which crops are harvested, while hay and 
pasture lands together constitute about 43 per cent, of 
the total area of improved land. The value of the hay 
crop for the year 1899 is estimated at $484,256,846. 
The only crop exceeding this was corn. 

It is impossible to estimate the value of the feed 
obtained from the 120,000,000 acres of improved pas- 
ture-land; but when we add the value of this and the 
pasture value of the remaining 82 per cent, of the total 
area of the country classed as unimproved land, nearly 
all of which is grazed, it is probable that the grass 
crop surpasses in value any other crop. But since hay 
is too bulky and usually too cheap to bear long-distance 
shipment, comparatively a small proportion of it finds 
its way to the markets. It is fortunate that at least 
one important crop must, from its very nature, be 
largely consumed on the land where it is produced. 
Otherwise we should long ago have reduced the 
fertility of practically all the farm lands in this 
country to so low a point as to have rendered farm- 
ing unprofitable, just as has been done in all the 
older parts of the country where livestock farming has 
been neglected. It is a notable fact that in those por- 
tions of the country which have enjoyed the most per- 



THE GRASS CROP 



3 



manent prosperity, the grasses and livestock have 
always occupied an important place. In the New Eng- 
land States, which have felt keenly the competition of 
the fertile lands of the Central West, agriculture has 
been able to maintain itself only by devoting the major 
portion of the improved land to grasses. Other crops 
may form the basis of temporary prosperity, as has 




FIG. I — PERCENTAGE OF IMPROVED LAND DEVOTED 
TO HAY AND FORAGE 



been the case w 7 ith wheat on the prairies of the North- 
west and the Pacific Northwest, and cotton in the 
South; but it was a prosperity that rested on too slen- 
der a basis, and, in both cases, led to disaster. 

The distribution of the grass crop in the United 
States is shown in Fig. i. This show T s the percentage 
of improved land in each State devoted to hay and 
forage. The States may be divided into four fairly 
distinct groups, based on these percentages. The first 



4 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



group consists of the cotton-producing States, in which 
the area of grass lands is less than 5 per cent, of the 
whole. This group of States was so unfortunate in 
their early history as to find their lands and climate 
adapted to a crop that was highly profitable, but which 
returned nothing to the soil. Livestock farming and 
grass culture were almost wholly neglected. As the 
lands wore out, resort was had to commercial fertil- 
izers; but these did not add humus to the soil, and the 
mechanical condition of the soil has reached that stage 
where rain washes it so badly that it is necessary to 
terrace in order to keep the soil from washing away. 
The results achieved by many progressive farmers in 
the South show conclusively that a proper use of 
grasses and stable manure render terracing unneces- 
sary except on decidedly rolling lands, and make the 
soil highly productive. Diversified farming is rapidly 
coming into favor in the South, and the area devoted 
to hay and pasture crops is increasing. This undoubt- 
edly means a return to permanent prosperity. 

Hay production, general!}' speaking, is not an im- 
portant industry in the South. It has become impor- 
tant in a few localities. In the Red River Valley in 
Louisiana and Arkansas a considerable area of alfalfa 
is grown, and the area devoted to this valuable crop 
is rapidly extending. On a narrow strip of prairie 
soil extending from northeastern Mississippi through 
central Alabama and terminating near Macon, Georgia, 
Johnson grass has long been grown in considerable 
areas. The same grass is grown more or less exten- 
sively on similar soil over much of central Texas. 
Alfalfa thrives abundantly on these black soils, and is 



THE GRASS CROP 



5 



coming into general use as a hay crop in recent years. 
In the vicinity of Augusta, Georgia, on both sides of 
the Savannah River, considerable hay is grown for the 
local markets. The same is true in restricted local- 
ities in northern Florida. In general, however, the 
prevailing system of farming consists of growing cotton 
and corn. This system has thoroughly worn out the 
soil except in the richer alluvial sections, so that good 
crops are seldom produced, even with the stimulus of 
commercial fertilizers, which are universally applied — 
at least, to cotton — in all the older settled sections. 

Regarding the profit from hay farming in the 
South, Mr. F. A. Quinett, who operates two large hay 
farms near New Orleans, says, in a letter to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture: " Formerly we found it difficult 
to sell our hay. We now have the best patronage, and 
are unable to meet the demand. One hundred acres 
last year gave about four hundred tons of hay, which 
"we sold at $10 to $14 per ton. We consider the hay 
business decidedly more profitable than any other style 
of farming." 

The next group consists of the States of Tennessee, 
Kentucky, and Virginia. In these, the grasses are 
largely confined to certain localities ; in Virginia, to 
the valleys between the mountain ranges in the west- 
ern part ; in Tennessee, to the mountain valleys of the 
east, and to the limestone soils of the central part of 
the State; in Kentucky, largely to the northern border 
and the north central part. In these three States the 
percentage of grass-lands ranges from 5 to 6.3. 

The third group consists of those States in w 7 hich 
agriculture is most w T idely diversified, and the agricul- 



6 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

tural wealth of the country is mostly concentrated. In 
them, from 10 to 25 per cent, of the improved land is 
devoted to hay and forage crops. The last group con- 
sists of the Rocky Mountain States and New York 
and New England. In these States the grass area ex- 
ceeds 25 per cent, of the total. The large amount of 
hay grown in these two groups of States is due to 
special conditions. In the Mountain States the chief 
industry is stock-raising on the ranges, and the hay is 
grown for winter feed. The proportion of grass to 
other crops is indeed larger here than is called for in 
properly diversified agriculture, and there is much talk 
of the need of grains for finishing off" cattle. In New 
York and Xew England much hay is grown for market. 
Dairying is also an important industry. Unlike Iowa, 
Wisconsin, and other great dairy States in the Central 
West, where concentrated dairy feeds are largely pro- 
duced on the farm, New England finds it more advan- 
tageous to devote her lands to grass, and to buy grain 
and mill products for her cattle. 

The data concerning the hay and forage crops of 
the country are given in Vol. VI., Census of 1900, 
under the following headings : " Wild, Salt, and Prai- 
rie Grasses," " Millet and Hungarian Grasses/' " Al- 
falfa or Lucern," "Clover/' ' 'Other Tame Grasses/' 
" Grains Cut Green for Hay," and i( Forage Crops." 
The distribution of each of these crops will be dis- 
cussed later. The data for clover relate to clover sown 
alone, and include all the varieties. When sown with 
timothy or other true grasses, clover is included under 
' 4 other tame grasses. ' ' Grains cut green for hay here 
includes peas as well, since, in the North, peas are 



THE GRASS CROP 



7 



usually sown with oats when grown for hay. It also 
includes the cow-peas of the South when cut for hay, 
though these are practically never sown with grain. 
Under " Forage Crops " are included sorghum, Kafir- 
corn, milo maize, Indian corn, etc., when cut and fed in 
the green state, made into silage, or when grown for the 
fodder alone, as all of these crops except Indian corn 
and Kafir-corn usually are. The two latter, when 
grown for grain, are not included here. 

The crop designated 1 1 other tame grasses " is by 
far the most important of all. It includes timothy, 
timothy and clover, redtop, orchard-grass, brome-grass, 
meadow-fescue, tall meadow oat-grass, etc. There are 
no definite data to indicate in what proportion these 
grasses occur, but common observation and extensive 
correspondence with farmers indicate that the area of 
all others together is decidedly small when compared 
with the area of timothy, or a mixture of timothy and 
clover, and we may fairly refer to the region producing 
this crop as the " timothy region." Omitting for the 
present the wild grasses, these hay crops will be con- 
sidered in the order of their importance. 

By reference to the map (Fig. 17), it will be seen 
that the crop designated as ' ' other tame grasses ' ' oc- 
curs principally north of the Ohio River and east of the 
w r est line of Missouri and Iowa. The area of this crop 
is given as 31,302,000 acres. It therefore constitutes 
74 per cent, of the total area of tame hay. The aver- 
age yield is 1.1 tons per acre, making a total of 35,- 
624,000 tons of hay, consisting almost exclusively of 
timothy, or timothy and clover. The yield per acre 
of this crop is lower than that of any other tame hay 



8 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

crop. This is largely due to the prevailing habit of 
leaving timothy meadows down after they have become 
unproductive. 

It is a remarkable faCt that nearly all the grass lit- 
erature issued by the American experiment stations 
comes from those stations outside of the timothy re- 
gion. Inside this region the early introduction of 
timothy, red clover, and Kentucky blue-grass solved 
the grass problem in a manner satisfactory to the farmer 
before the establishment of the experiment stations, 
and these institutions have, therefore, devoted their 
energies to more pressing problems. The most im- 
portant grass literature from these States is to be found 
in the reports from early agricultural societies. These 
reports indicate that grass problems were at one time 
as important in the region in question as they now are 
outside of it. Nearfy all the correspondence that 
comes to the office of Grass and Forage Plant Investi- 
gations of the United States Department of Agriculture 
originates either in the cotton-growing States, where 
grass culture has been neglected, or in the arid and 
semi-arid West, where satisfactory grasses are yet to 
be found. 

Clover ranks next to ' ' other tame grasses ' ' in the 
area devoted to it. The figures apply, of course, to 
the clovers when sown without timothy or other true 
grasses. The area devoted to clover is 4,104,000 
acres, or 7 per cent, of the total area of tame hay 
The average yield of this class of crops is given at 1.3 
tons per acre. The clovers, particularly the common 
red clover ( Trifolium pratense) , are much more im- 
portant in American agriculture than these figures 



THK GRASS CROP 



9 



would indicate. In the first place, red clover is very 
commonly sown with timothy, the area thus sown 
probably being several times as large as the area of 
clover sown alone. In the second place, they are 
nitrogen gatherers, and are thus of vast importance in 
furnishing nitrogenous material in feed-stuffs and as 
soil renovators. But a further discussion of this sub- 
ject would transcend the limits of this volume, which 
is confined, except in a most general way, to a discus- 
sion of the true grasses. 

The next most important crop in the list consists 
of grains cut green for hay. Its distribution is shown 
in Fig. 2. The area of this crop is 3,884,000 acres, 
and the average yield 1.3 tons. The grains are used 
extensively for hay only on the Pacific Coast. On 
non-irrigated lands in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, 
and California, where the rainfall is sufficient to per- 
t mit of farming, wheat is by far the most important 
crop. Over much of this area wild oats are very 
troublesome, and the principal hay consists of patches 
of wild oats cut in wheat-fields. Even where wild oats 
are not troublesome, as where the rainfall is less than 
about eighteen inches annual^, much wheat is cut for 
hay. If cut at the proper stage, wheat, and the other 
cereals as well, make excellent hay for all kinds of 
stock. In California beardless barley is used exten- 
sively for hay; this crop is also coming into use in 
Oregon and Washington for the same purpose. Al- 
falfa and brome-grass (Bromzis znermzs) are also rap- 
idly coming into favor on the wheat-lands east of the 
Cascade Mountains in the two States last named. 

Throughout the Central and Southern States the 



THE GRASS CROP 



I I 



grain hay consists mostly of oats cut and fed in the 
sheaf, and of cow-peas. The thick patch of grain hay 
shown in southern Louisiana consists entirely of cow- 
peas grown on sugar plantations, both for hay and for 
their fertilizing effect on the soil. At the North, Cana- 
dian field peas are sometimes sown with oats for hay, 
but the area is quite limited. They hardly extend as 
far south as central Pennsylvania and central Ohio. 

The hay crop next in importance is alfalfa, of 
wdiich 2,094,000 acres is reported in the Census ol 
1900. This is confined almost entirely to the West, 
and largely to irrigated land in that section. Alfalfa, 
as an important crop, stops at the western limit of 
" other tame grasses," as shown in Fig. 17. It is now 
rapidly gaining ground in the East and South. The 
average yield per acre is 2.5 tons — nearly double that 
of any of the preceding crops. 

Last in the list of tame hay crops are ' ' Millet and 
^Hungarian grasses." Of these, 1,744,000 acres are 
shown in the census returns, with an average yield of 
1 . 6 tons per acre. Their distribution is shown in Fig. 
20, and the millet crop is discussed in detail in Chapter 
VIII. 

The acreage of forage crops is placed at 3,107,000. 
The average }deld of dry forage is 2.6 tons per acre. 
Kansas leads in the production of forage. Sorghum 
and Kafir-corn are eminently adapted to the western 
margin of the humid region ; sorghum does equally 
well in the whole of the cotton-producing section, 
where it is highly important as a fodder crop. It is 
also much used in the South as a green feed for sum- 
mer and as pasture for all kinds of stock. 



12 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



The wild hay crop is much more important than is 
generally believed. No less than 15,417,000 acres of 
wild grasses were cut for hay during the census year, 
though the area is rapidly diminishing. The average 
yield is 1 . 1 tons per acre, or the same as that given for 
" other tame grasses." The distribution of the wild 
ha}' crop is shown in Fig. 3. The chief acreage is 
shown to be in the States bordering the western edge 
of the timothy region. In Iowa, Wisconsin, and part 
of Minnesota, wild hay is cut chiefly on wet lands ; 
farther west, mostly on upland prairies ; still farther 
west, in swales and draws in the arid region. The 
principal grasses constituting this wild hay, and the 
possibility of domesticating some of them, are men- 
tioned later in this volume. 

RECAPITULATION 

The following table presents the. statistics for hay 
and forage crops in more compact form. The figures 
are from the Census of 1900: 

ACREAGE OF HAY AND FORAGE 







A verage yield 




A cres 


in tons per 






acre 


Wild, salt, and prarie grasses . . . . . . . 


i5,457,ooo 


1.1 




1,744,000 


1.6 


Alfalfa, or lucern .... 


2,094,000 


2.5 




4, 104,000 


1-3 


Other tame and cultivated grasses. . .. . 


31,302,000 


1.1 


Grains cut green for hay 


3,884,000 


?3 


Total . 


58,585,000 


1.2 




3,107,000 


2.6 




61,692,000 


1-3 



II 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 

Jxckpt in comparatively few localities, the 
American farmer has never learned the art 
of maintaining grass-lands in a permanently 
productive condition. This is partly due to 
the character of the grasses grown, and partly to the 
treatment accorded grass-lands in this country. There 
are only three important hay and pasture plants com- 
monly grown in America that naturally tend to in- 
crease in productiveness after the second year. These 
are alfalfa, Bermuda grass, and blue-grass (Poa pra- 
tensis) . When any one of these is once established on 
land to which it is thoroughly adapted, it remains 
productive for man)' years, if given proper treatment. 
But such grasses as timothy, redtop, brome-grass, 
Johnson grass, orchard-grass, and tall oat-grass all 
decrease markedly in yield after the first crop }^ear — at 
least, with the treatment they ordinarily receive. 
Whether a meadow consisting of these grasses could 
be maintained productive indefinitely is doubtful. 

In the real grass-growing section of the country, 
which lies north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers and 
east of Nebraska and Kansas, including portions of 
Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, and Nebraska, meadows 
ordinarily consist of timothy and red clover. The lat- 
ter plant has come to be regarded as practically a bien- 
14 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



15 



nial. In reality it is a perennial, capable of remain- 
ing productive for many years, but it is subject to so 
many insect enemies and fungous diseases that it usu- 
ally ceases to be productive in one or two years. On 
the Pacific Coast, where these enemies have not yet be- 
come established, productive fields of clover ten or fif- 
teen years old are not uncommon. As stated above, 
timothy becomes much less productive after the first 
crop-year. The American farmer has, therefore, come 
to regard a meadow as a temporary thing, and there 
has not been much attempt to maintain such perma- 
nent grass-lands as are found in England and the Con- 
tinent of Europe. 

Among our farmers the usual method of procedure 
is to sow timothy in the fall with wheat, adding clover 
in February or March. On account of the presence of 
the wheat, no grass crop is produced the first year. 
The next year two crops of hay are cut, the first con- 
sisting of mixed clover and timothy, the second almost 
entirely of clover. A few of our best farmers get 
three crops, though many others get only one. The 
next year one or two smaller crops are cut. When 
timothy is sown alone, as it frequently is, there is only 
one cutting a year. After the second crop-year any 
one of three courses is followed. A good many farm- 
ers spread the available supply of barn-yard manure on 
the meadow during the winter after the second crop- 
year, and in the spring plow up the sod for corn. Some 
continue to cut it for hay till weeds compel them to 
plow it up. Others use it for pasture one, two, or 
three }~ears before plowing it up for corn. Sometimes 
blue-grass is sown with the clover when the meadow is 



1 6 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

laid down, and the field converted into more or less 
permanent pasture after one or two years' use as 
meadow. 

On account of the usual low yield of old meadows 
and most old pastures, progressive farmers maintain 
that they cannot afford to keep lands permanently in 
grass. This is particularly the case in sections of 
the country where dairying is the leading feature of 
farming, especially where land is high-priced. In 
fadt, there is a tendency in some sections to dispense 
with pastures altogether on dairy farms, except for 
the young stock, and to substitute the system of 
green feeding (soiling) instead, because of the greater 
amount of feed that may be obtained from the same 
area by this system as compared with pasturing. 
Whether better results could be obtained from per- 
manent or semi-permanent grass-lands by using such 
mixtures as are used in Europe, instead of depending 
on timothy and clover, as our farmers do, is doubtful, 
for the most highly prized European grasses do not 
thrive well in the Eastern sedtion of the United States. 
The most important grasses of Europe are English and 
Italian rye-grasses, meadow-fescue, timothy, orchard- 
grass, and meadow-foxtail. Of these, timothy is the 
only one that can be said to be important in the real 
grass-growing sedtion of this country. The rye-grasses 
and meadow-foxtail are entire failures (in our timothy 
region), and orchard-grass and meadow-fescue (here 
called English blue-grass) are important only in very 
restricted areas. 

Much has been written concerning the care of 
meadows in this country, a good deal of it copied from 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



European authorities. With our conditions, about the 
best treatment seems to be to plow up the meadow for 
corn at the end of the second year. Where the pasture 
is needed, as it certainly is on beef -producing farms, 
the old meadows may well be used for pasture a year 
or two before plowing up for corn. Where the ma- 
nure is available, it is good practice to top-dress the 
meadow each winter after the last crop of hay is re- 
moved in the fall. 

Instead of sowing the timothy in the fall with 
wheat, and adding the clover in spring, it is much bet- 
ter, in most parts of the Timothy Region, to sow the 
timothy and clover together late in August or early in 
September, on well-prepared and well-manured land, 
without a so-called nurse crop of wheat or other grain. 
This will give a heavy yield of hay the next summer. 
After this hay crop is removed, top-dress well the next 
winter, and cut for hay again the next summer. After 
this, top-dress in winter and plow in spring for corn. 
This applies to good arable land in those parts of the 
country where timothy and clover thrive, and where 
corn is a paying crop. Such apian, of course, presup- 
poses an abundance of manure. It is recognized that 
there is much land well adapted to meadow purposes, 
but not adapted to other ordinary crops. In certain 
sections also blue-grass is so highly productive that it 
pays to sow blue-grass with the timothy and clover, 
and make a pasture of the meadow after the second- 
crop year. (See chapters on timoth}^ and blue-grass. ) 
There is also a great deal of land unfit for cultivation 
which, with proper attention, may be rendered fairly 
productive as pasture. It is therefore important to 



1 8 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

consider the best methods of handling such lands in 
order to keep the grass in the most productive con- 
dition. The methods to be employed in any particu- 
lar locality depend, of course, on the nature of the 
grasses best adapted to that locality. Much that 
might be said here is therefore deferred to later chap- 
ters, in which the grasses are discussed individually, 
and in which the treatment to be accorded each partic- 
ular species is set forth in detail. 

PREPARATION OF THE SEED-BED 

When timoth}' is sown in the fall with wheat, and 
clover added in the spring, as is usually done in the 
timothy region proper, little need be said regarding 
the preparation of the seed-bed. Wheat, in the region 
in question, usually follows either oats or corn. When 
it follows oats it is well to plow under a light dressing 
of barn-yard manure in preparing for the wheat and 
grass crop. It is important that the land be plowed 
when it is in 14 good season," as Southern farmers say; 
that is, when it has just moisture enough in it to pul- 
verize nicely. In fact, the breaking of land should 
always be done when it is in this condition, but this is, 
of course, not always possible. The harrow should be 
used freely, so that a fine tilth may be secured before 
the seeding is done. The manure gives the timothy 
and clover a good start, and the fine tilth renders a 
catch of timothy much more certain. 

When wheat and timothy follow corn, it is usually 
sufficient to disk the corn-stubble a couple of times 
after the corn is in the shock, unless the land is foul. 
It is to be presumed that the corn-land had a good 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



19 



dressing of manure the previous winter or spring, in 
which case it is hardly necessary to manure again at 
this stage. Where there is a deficiency of manure, 
as in some parts of the East, a dressing of phosphate 
is usually applied to the land and harrowed in just be- 
fore the wheat is sown, or even with the wheat. 

As elsewhere stated, it is better practice to sow 
timothy and clover alone in the late summer or earl} 7 
fall. Oat-stubble is well suited for this purpose, espe- 
cially in the northern tier of States. In the region of 
the Ohio River it is possible to grow a catch crop in 
summer, such as millet or cow-peas, before seeding to 
grass in the fall. In either case it is a good plan to 
manure the land, the quantity required depending on 
the fertility of the soil before breaking up for grass. 
Plowing done at this season should be fairly deep — say, 
seven to nine inches. It is highly important to secure 
a good tilth before sowing the grass-seed. If the soil 
is "inclined to be stiff, as most clay soils are, the disk- 
harrow is a very useful implement in putting it in shape 
for sowing. On loose soils the common drag-harrow is 
sufficient. In the Middle South, where orchard-grass, 
redtop, tall meadow oat-grass, and meadow-fescue 
partially replace timothy, more care is required in pre- 
paring grass-lands than in most other parts of the 
country. Here much of the soil has been exhausted 
by the continuous cultivation of cotton and corn, and 
barn-yard manure is frequently not available. The 
pradtice of subsoiling has become very general in this 
section. 

The usual manner of. subsoiling is to run a 
" scooter" in the furrow behind the turning-plow. 



20 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

The scooter-plow is unknown at the North. It is a 
kind of shovel-plow T having an oblique point. It digs 
up the clay, but leaves it in the furrow. A great deal 
of time and labor is wasted in this manner in northern 
Georgia, northern Alabama, and adjacent sections. It 
is argued that if this subsoil were turned up and mixed 
with the soil it would greatly reduce the yield, which 
is very true. The idea is to break up the hard-pan 
which has been formed just below the furrow slice. 
But this can be done in a far better way. By plowing 
one inch deeper every year till a depth of ten inches is 
reached, a ten-inch layer of good surf ace soil is secured 
without at any time having a lot of unproductive hard- 
pan mixed with the soil. After this depth has been 
reached it is a good plan never to plow the same depth 
two years in succession. Plow, say, seven inches the 
next year, then nine inches the next, then six, then 
ten, then eight, and so on. If this practice is followed 
there will be no hard-pan to break up. There are 
many farms on which all the plowing must be done by 
one small mule. Ten-inch plowing is, of course, out 
of the question in such cases. 

The preparation of good alluvial soil for grass in 
the Middle South does not differ materially from the 
methods required in the North, but the uplands re- 
quire considerably more care. It is useless to attempt 
to grow meadow-grasses on exhausted upland soils in 
the Middle South. The soil must first be brought 
into good heart. This may be done by sowing Southern 
grown winter rye and turning it under about the time it 
heads out, and by growing and turning under cow-peas 
or velvet beans. It is very important, when any heavy 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



21 



green crop has been turned under, to allow it to decay, 
and let one or two good, soaking rains wash the re- 
sulting acids out of the soil before sowing any other 
crop. A very good preparation for worn upland soils 
would be to turn under a crop of rye, let the land lie 
six weeks, then sow cow-peas. Cut the peas for hay 
in time to sow rye again in the fall. Turn rye under 
again the next spring, and grow another crop of peas. 
By the time this second crop of peas is cut for hay the 
land ought to be in fairly good condition to receive a 
grass crop. 

For the particular condition here described the best 
grasses are orchard-grass, redtop, tall meadow oat- 
grass, and meadow-fescue, with red and alsike clover. 
On most of these soils, except where rock is near the 
surface, alfalfa can be started readily after the above 
course of treatment. A very good combination would 
be: orchard-grass, 10 lbs.; redtop, 5 lbs. of recleaned 
Seed, or 12 lbs. of seed in the chaff; tall meadow oat- 
grass, 12 lbs.; red clover, 8 lbs.; and alsike clover, 
4 lbs. In the absence of barn-yard manure, a dressing of 
200 to 400 lbs. of a high-grade, complete fertilizer would 
give the grass a good start. After this grass has been 
down two years, during which time it ought to give 
two cuttings a year, it should be manured and plowed 
up for corn. The corn may be followed by rye or 
wheat the next winter. Cow-peas may advantageously 
follow the grain crop, and give way to the grass crop 
again in the fall. This makes a four-year rotation, 
which keeps the land busy winter and summer. If all 
these crops are fed on the place and the manure re- 
turned to the land, this system of cropping cannot fail 



22 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



to bring the soil to a high state of fertility in a few 
years. 

We may summarize the subject of preparation of 
land for grass by saying that it must first be made 
fairly fertile if it is not already so, and that it must be 
plowed deep when in condition to pulverize well, and 
then be thoroughly fined by the harrow. It is then 
ready for the seed. 

SOWING THE SEED 

The importance of good seed can hardly be over- 
estimated. In the chapter on seeds the prevalence of 
poor grass-seed on the markets and some of the rea- 
sons for the same are pointed out. A good many 
failures in seeding down the grasses result from insuf- 
ficient preparation of the land, but many failures result 
also from the use of seed which for one reason or 
another has lost much, or all, of its vitality. This is 
about the only civilized country in the world in which 
there are no laws to protect the farmer against imposi- 
tion on the part of dishonest seedsmen, and honest 
seedsmen find much difficulty in selling high-class 
seed alongside of dead seed, which is offered at a low 
price. A farmer ought always to buy grass-seed far 
enough in advance to enable him to send a sample of 
it to the seed laboratory of his State experiment sta- 
tion, if the station maintains one, or to that of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, which is 
always ready to test such seeds free of charge. If this 
practice were general, bad seed would be less plentiful 
on the market, and there would be fewer failures when 
grasses are sown. The danger from bad seed is much 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



23 



greater in the case of such grasses as tall meadow oat- 
grass, meadow-fescue, Italian rye-grass, and the like, 
which are so little used in this country. The stock is 
liable to be old, and such seeds should always be tested 
before risking good land to them. The same is true 
of blue-grass, Johnson, and Bermuda grasses, which 
are especially liable to be of poor quality. 

The rate at which the various grass-seeds are to be 
sown is given in discussing the individual grasses later 
in this volume. When mixtures are sown, a number 
of considerations govern the amount of each kind of 
seed to use. In sowing grasses and clovers together 
it is customary to sow enough of both grass-seed and 
clover-seed for a full stand. But if several grasses 
are used in the mixture, the amount of each is usually 
somewhat reduced. In parts of the Timothy Region it 
is customary to add more or less redtop to the timothy 
and clover (except when the hay is grown for sale), 
, but the amount of timothy-seed is not thereby reduced. 
The amount of each kind of seed to be used depends 
partly on how much of each kind of grass is desired 
in the hay. Redtop is usually added asa (( filler," to 
increase the yield, rather than because of its desirabil- 
ity in the hay, and hence the proportion of its seed is 
usually small. In the mixture above recommended for 
uplands in the Middle South, the amount of orchard- 
grass is about half what would be sown if this were 
the only grass to be sown with the clovers. The 
amount of redtop is about one-fourth, and that of tall 
meadow oat-grass about one-third of a full seeding. 

Some authorities recommend that nearly as much 
of each kind of seed be used in a mixture as if it were 



24 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

to be sown alone, and this is a very good rule if one is 
not sure of the quality of the seed. A general rule, 
but one that should seldom be applied strictly, is to 
reduce the amount of each kind of seed in proportion 
to the number of kinds in the mixture. This rule 
should be used with much caution, yet it is a guide of 
some value. If more or less of a given grass is wanted 
in the mixture, use its seed accordingly, and always 
make sure of sufficient seed of the best grasses in the 
mixture to secure a stand if the less important kinds 
should fail entirely. An indefinite number of mix- 
tures could be given as samples, but it would occupy 
more space than can be devoted to it in this volume to 
give the total number of such that might be used under 
varying conditions in the various parts of the country. 
Seedsmen usually make recommendations on this point 
in their catalogues, but such recommendations cannot 
be followed implicitly. 

Other things being equal, rich land requires more 
seed than poor land, and wet land more than dry. A 
well-prepared seed-bed requires less seed than one 
poorly prepared, because a larger proportion of the 
seed finds a chance to germinate. A single pound of 
timothy-seed to the acre, if every seed produced a 
thrifty plant, would give 27 plants on every square 
foot of land. Since it usually requires 12 to 15 lbs. 
of timothy to secure a good stand it is evident that only 
a small proportion of the seed sown on even the best- 
prepared land produce plants. On rough, cloddy land 
the proportion is much smaller. Seedsmen, in their 
recommendations as to the amounts to sow, make a 
good deal of allowance for poorly prepared land, and 



MEADOWS AND PASTtJRBS 



25 



it is well they do, or there would be more failures than 
there are. 

From the above it is evident that no absolute rules 
can be laid down for determining the amount of seed 
to sow on an acre of land. One must consider all 
the circumstances and be governed accordingly. A 
beginner will do well to consult the experience of 
those who have farmed in his locality for many years. 
In case such experience is not available, use a liberal 
allowance of seed until experience has taught the 
proper rate of seeding. As much definite information, 
based on farm experience, is given in later chapters as 
can be given on this point. 



Ill 

MEADOWS AND PASTURES (Continued) 
TIME TO SOW 




good seed-bed is more important than the par- 
ticular date of sowing. It is unwise to sow 
grass-seed on soil that is too dry to give the 



grass a .quick start. Ground that is at all 
weedy should never be sown in late spring, or weeds 
will choke out the grass. Over most parts of the 
Eastern United States grass-seed may be sown either 
in early fall or in very early spring. Fall sowing 
should be early enough to give the grass a good start 
before winter. In sections subject to late summer 
drouth it should be so timed as to escape the dry, hot 
weather. Spring sowing should be early enough to 
give the grass a start ahead of weeds. In middle 
latitudes most grasses and clovers may be safely sown 
on a light snow in late winter. When the snow melts 
the seed will be sufficiently covered by the shifting of 
soil due to the water formed from the melting snow. 
Perhaps the safest general rule, to be used with judg- 
ment, is to sow in early fall if the season is favor- 
able. If not, then sow in early spring. Some kinds 
of seeds produce plants that are especially tender when 
young. This is more generally true of alfalfa and 
clover than of the grasses. North of the Ohio River 
it is safer to sow these in spring, while farther south 
26 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 27 

they are best sown in early fall. Yet in the North all 
these plants may be successfully sown in late summer 
if the soil is in good condition. Late fall sowing is 
seldom advisable, for it is unsafe to let a meadow of 
any except the hardiest grasses go into winter without 
a good covering on it. In the colder regions of the 
Prairie States it is well to plow the land in fall, then 
prepare it, and sow the seed in early spring. In the 
Pacific Northwest, on upland prairies east of the Cas- 
cade Mountains, it is best to plow in spring and sow 
the seed at once. The reasons for this are given in the 
chapter on timothy. In the irrigated districts of this 
section fall sowing is advisable, while west of the Cas- 
cades the same rules apply as in Ohio, Pennsylvania, 
and adjacent States. At high altitudes in the Rockies 
spring sowing is safest because of the cold winters. 

MANNER OF SOWING 

* Very light, chaffy seeds, such as those of brome- 
grass, especially the imported seed, and awned seeds, 
such as those of tall meadow oat-grass, do not feed 
through seeding-machines satisfactorily, and should, 
therefore, be sown by hand. Hand-sowing should al- 
ways be done when the air is as still as possible. It is 
well-nigh impossible to distribute the seed evenly when 
the wind is blowing. Unless the sower is decidedly 
expert, it is best to sow half of the seed at a time, 
making the second sowing crosswise to the first. This 
insures a more even stand. 

For such seeds as will feed through it, such as tim- 
othy, redtop (recleaned), clovers, etc., in general, for 
small, round, clean seeds, the wheelbarrow-seeder is 



28 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

the most satisfactory implement yet invented. Re- 
cleaned blue-grass seed can be sown with this imple- 
ment, but the uncleaned seed should be sown by hand. 
Grass-seeders are frequently attached to grain-drills. 
They answer very well for timothy to be sown with 
grain, but are hard to keep in order. There are sev- 
eral cheap grass-seeding machines which scatter the 
seed by mechanical means. They are satisfactory for 
seeds that feed through them readily, but it requires 
some patience to regulate them properly, and the sower 
must walk at a uniform rate or the seed will not be 
scattered evenly. 

Seeds of approximately the same size and weight 
may be mixed before sowing. Very large seeds should 
never be mixed with small ones, or the small seed will 
feed out first. If heavy seeds are mixed with light ones, 
even of the same size, the heavy ones will feed out first 
unless the mixture is kept well stirred. In sowing 
such mixtures it is well to put only a small amount of 
seed in the machine at a time. By this means the 
separation of the heavy and light seeds is largely 
avoided. 

NURSE CROP 

Just why wheat or other grain sown with the 
grasses should be called a nurse crop is not clear. It 
would be more appropriate to call it a robber crop. 
The idea that it protects the grass probably arose from 
the facT: that, w 7 hen the grain is removed in hot, dry 
weather, the grasses are apt to dry up. Having been 
shaded and weakened by the grain, they are unable to 
bear the full heat of the sun, particularly when the 
supply of moisture is short and the grain crop has 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



2 9 



robbed them of their scant supply. In no part of the 
country is it a safe plan to use a so-called nurse 
crop for the grasses, except, perhaps, in parts of the 
North, where weeds are liable to take spring seeding. 
In this case a light seeding of oats or barley will tend 
to keep down the weeds, and will not seriously harm 
the grass if the grain is cut for hay while yet green. 
If left to ripen it is liable to do the grass harm. In 
the South a nurse crop should never be used. 

The idea is prevalent that a crop can be gained by 
sowing grain with the grasses. This may be true of 
spring seeding, but it is not true of fall seeding. Fall- 
sown grasses without a nurse crop make their largest 
yield the next summer; with a nurse crop, they usu- 
ally make no ha}' till the second summer. 

COVERING THE SEED 

Seeds sown on other crops in late winter or early 
spring usually need no covering. At other times a 
light drag-harrow or a brush does the work well. 
Soils that are loose or inclined to be cloddy should be 
rolled after seeding, but the harrow should follow 
immediately after the roller. On clay soils particu- 
larly the roller has a tendency to cause the surface to 
bake and form a hard crust, through which the young 
plants cannot penetrate. A good rain just after seed- 
ing frequently covers the seed sufficiently. It is im- 
portant not to disturb the soil while the seeds are 
germinating, as the little plants are very easily de- 
stroyed at this time. No attempt should therefore be 
made to remedy insufficient covering after the seed 
have begun to germinate. 



30 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



Large seeds, such as those of brome-grass, Johnson 
grass, etc., may be covered more deeply than such 
small seeds as blue-grass, timothy, and the clovers. 
These larger seeds ma}' safely be put down with a 
drill. In light soils seeds as small as clover may be 
sown with a drill. On ordinary soils two inches is 
deep enough to cover large grass-seed, while half an 
inch is deep enough for timothy and clover and other 
small seeds. 

STAGE AT WHICH TO CUT GRASS FOR HAY 

The proper stage at which the grasses should be 
cut for hay has been the subject of much investigation 
on the part of agricultural chemists. The general con- 
clusion to which these investigations have led is thus 
stated by one of our most eminent investigators : 
"Young plants while rapidly growing contain rela- 
tively more protein and less fibre than more mature 
ones; consequently, early cut fodder must be of better 
quality than that cut late. It is more digestible/' 
We have here three facts and one inference. As the 
point is one of much practical importance, we will 
consider it at length. First, the facts are: 

A. Young, growing plants contain relatively more 
protein than mature ones. 

B. They also contain less fibre. 
C They are more digestible. 

The inference from these facts is: Early cut fodder 
is of better quality than that cut late. Is this infer- 
ence justified ? Concerning the first fact, it may be 
stated that we do not grow the ordinary grasses for 
the protein they contain, and the fact that mature 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



33 



grasses have a smaller percentage of it than immature 
ones is a matter of small importance. We can get 
portein more cheaply than by cutting immature grasses 
for it, when by doing so we lose considerably in yield 
and, perhaps, also in palatability. Especially in the 
South and the Far West, where the ordinary feeds are 
too rich in protein, is this conclusion not well founded. 
Even in the Timothy Region proper we can get protein 
in a more satisfactory way. 

The second and third facts (B and C above) are 
closely related, and may be considered together. Care- 
ful digestion experiments are not sufficiently numerous 
to show definitely that timothy cut, say, when the seed 
are in the dough stage, is decidedly less digestible than 
when cut, say, just before bloom. But grant that 
there is a difference; is it sufficient to compensate for 
the smaller yield and lower palatability of the early 
cut hay ? 

1 The fact is that old, experienced feeders and ha} 7 
dealers almost invariably prefer timothy hay that has 
been cut after the seed is pretty well formed. They 
insist that stock like it better, and that it is a stronger 
feed than ha}' cut earlier. There is a possibility that 
investigators have paid too little attention to one of 
the most, if not the most, important factors in deter- 
mining the value of a given feed — namely, its palata- 
bility. Considering the comparatively small variation 
in the chemical composition of the same grass cut at 
different stages, the most important question is not 
how nutritious is a pound of it, but how much of it 
will an animal eat. We are all well aware that a feed 
has little value in most cases if stock will eat it only 



32 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

when driven to do so from hunger. It is that which 
is eaten over and above a maintenance ration which is 
of real value both for work and for animal produces. 
Is it not better to cut hay at the stage when it will be 
most readily eaten, and then balance up the ration by 
a judicious combination of feeds of different composi- 
tions? The writer believes this to.be the case, and 
what is said below is based largely on the assumption 
that the best stage at which any grass should be cut is 
determined largely by palatability and yield. 

There is yet another facftor which is really more 
important than the variations in chemical composition, 
and that is the effedt on the digestive organs. Grasses 
cut very green are laxative in character, while those 
cut ripe tend to produce constipation, and this is some- 
times the determining fa<5lor in cutting hay. In prac- 
tice, therefore, the factors which determine the stage 
at which a grass should be cut for hay are yield, pal- 
atability, and effect on the bowels. In particular in- 
stances considerations which are ordinarily minor ones 
become important. In the case of Johnson grass and 
wild oats, for instance, both of which are vile weeds, 
yet excellent hay when cut at the proper stage, it is of 
the utmost importance to cut the hay before any seeds 
are mature enough to germinate. In this case all 
other considerations vanish. If the weather or the 
pressure of other work never interfered with haymak- 
ing, these two plants would undoubtedly be highly 
valued and standard crops, for they could then be cut 
at a stage which would prevent them from scattering 
by seed. Johnson grass presents another peculiarity 
of some importance. It yields three crops a year or- 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



33 



dinarily. The second and third crops come on evenly, 
so that all the grass is practically at the same stage 
when cut ; but the first crop is liable to be very irreg- 
ular, and much of it will therefore have to be cut be- 
fore it heads out in order to avoid ripe seed in the more 
advanced plants. The time to cut this grass is when 
the earliest portions of the field begin to bloom. Wild 
oats should also be cut while in bloom. In the case of 
timothy and most common grasses we are not bothered 
with weedy character, and can therefore give our whole 
attention to the quality and yield of hay. 

Horses prefer timothy cut when the seed is well 
formed but not fully ripe. As this class of stock is 
unfavorably affedled by laxative feeds, late cut tim- 
othy is also preferred for them on account of its favor- 
able effect on the digestive tradl. In the case of cattle, 
laxative feed is rather to be preferred. Cattle also 
relish timothy better when it is cut rather green. 
Hence, for cattle, timothy should be cut about the 
time it is in blossom. Any time from a day or two 
before the ' ' first bloom ' ' till a day or two after the 
" second bloom " will answer. (For the meaning of 
first and second bloom, see Chapter VI.) The yield 
will be slightly larger at the later stage. 

Orchard-grass loses its palatability very rapidly 
after blooming, and should always be cut within a day 
or two after the blooming period is past. Brome-grass, 
which is becoming an important grass in this country, 
retains its palatability until the seed is dead ripe. 
Even the straw from which the ripe seed has been 
threshed is eaten readily by both cattle and horses. It 
therefore has a considerable season during which it 



54 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

may be cut for hay. The same is true of blue-grass, 
Bermuda grass, and Italian rye-grass. There is doubt- 
less a best time to cut each of these, but that depends 
on yield mostly. In the case of grasses that yield a 
second cutting, like the last two mentioned, the earlier 
the first cutting is made the larger the yield of the 
second cutting will be. 

The time of cutting of other grasses is discussed in 
sufficient detail in later chapters. 

CURING HAY 

The best hay is made without rain and with the 
least possible sunshine. If it w T ere practicable to cure 
hay in the shade, the quality would be all the better. 
The curing of hay is a process of drying and of fer- 
mentation. Hot sun tends to stop the fermentations 
which produce hay of good flavor. It is important, 
therefore, to rake the hay into windrows as soon as it 
can safely be done. When the growth is light, as is 
usually the case with such grasses as blue-grass and 
redtop, and frequently with Bermuda grass, it may 
be raked up within two hours after cutting, provid- 
ing, of course, the weather is dry. Heavier growths 
require a longer time, sometimes one or two days, 
and frequently the use of a tedder is necessary to 
dry out a heavy growth of hay evenly, so that the 
upper portion of the swath may not become sun-baked 
and dead while the under portion is still fresh and 
green. 

When any given process can be reduced to definite 
rules, such rules may largely take the place of experi- 
ence; but in haymaking experience is necessary in 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



35 



order to be able to know at what stage to perform the 
necessary operations. Only the most general rules can 
be laid down. In most cases, as much as possible 
of the curing should be done in windrows or cocks. 
After the hay is cocked up there is not so much need 
for haste, unless there is danger of rain. It is good 



FIG. 4 — HAYING SCENE IN NOVA SCOTIA 

policy, however, to get hay in stack or mow as soon 
as it is dry enough not to mould. The color and 
flavor will be the better the less rain and sunshine the 
hay gets after it is cut. By referring to the grades of 
hay in the last chapter, it will be seen that color is a 
leading factor in its classification. Not that color of 
itself is essential, but it is the most important indica- 
tion of the manner in which the curing was done. As 



36 FARM GRASSES OF THK UNITED STATES 

a rule, the less change that occurs in color during the 
curing the better the hay will be. 

How long to leave hay in the cock cannot be de- 
termined by any general rule. It depends on the kind 
of hay, the stage at which it-is cut, the dryness of the 
atmosphere, and the weight of the crop. A heavy crop 
takes longer to cure than a light one. Timothy cures 
quickly, while millets require a longer time. A rule 
frequently followed by farmers is to begin stacking when 
the hay in the center of the cock is dry enough that 
when a wisp of it is twisted no juice can be squeezed 
out of it. 

When a large quantity of hay is put in a single mow 
or stack it may be stored in a greener state than when 
the quantity is small. Some farmers put clover hay 
in the mow right from the mower. In storing hay 
as green as this they usually put about a gallon of 
salt on each ton of hay. Some use a half gallon of 
quicklime instead of the salt. The salt or lime absorbs 
moisture from the hay, and thus aids the curing proc- 
ess. Hay stored before drying generally turns brown, 
or even black, in curing, but it is readily eaten by 
stock. The writer has never practiced this method of 
bulk-curing, though it is frequently reported in the 
agricultural papers. Hay cured this way is close kin 
to silage. 

The method of curing hay (timothy and clover) 
used by the Rev. J. D. Detrich, formerly of Flour- 
town, Pa. , who probably raises the largest crops of hay 
of any farmer in this country, is given in his own words, 
as follows : " The grass is cut in the afternoon. The 
first night's dew never hurts it. The next day it is 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



37 



left to lie until noon. It is then put into curing cocks, 
which are made flat. The cocks are upset the next 
morning, and in the afternoon four of them are made 
into one weathering cock. Thus it is allowed to re- 
main for one day, and then hauled to the barn or rick. ' ' 




FIG. 5 — RAKE FOR MOVING HAY-COCKS TO STACK 

This gives three days from cutting to hauling. The 
quality of this hay is unsurpassed. 

STACKING AND BAEING 

In vStacking hay, especially if it is to remain long in 
the stack, it is important to place the hay so that it will 
settle evenly, and more so near the margins than at 
the centre. This is accomplished by dumping the 
forkful in the centre of the stack, and then distribut- 
ing it evenly, keeping the middle a little high. If 
the rick form is used the fork should be dumped along 



38 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

the middle, and care should be used to distribute the 
hay so that the whole central line of the rick is 
equally compressed. Neglect of this precaution will 
cause the centre to sag in places and leak rain into the 
centre of the rick. (A stack made too flat is shown in 
Fig. 6.) The stack or rick should have some kind of 



FIG. 6 — A HAY-STACK MADE TOO FLAT 

foundation to prevent decay from contact with the 
ground. A layer of dry straw a foot deep will answer 
for this, but a foundation of boards or fence-rails is bet- 
ter. After the stack is about two-thirds as high as it 
is desired to make it the middle should be consider- 
ably raised and kept high till it is finished. This will 
cause the hay to settle so as to shed rain better. 

It is usually necessary to anchor the stack to pre- 
vent the top from blowing away in strong winds before 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



39 



it is well compacted. A good plan is to tie weights to 
the two ends of a rope and hang this over the top. 
Two such ropes crossed at right angles will hold a 
stack in ordinary winds, and one such rope about every 
six feet on a rick will answer the same purpose. 

Little need be said regarding the baling of hay. It 



s 




FIG. 7 — HAY-DERRICK IN COMMON USE IN UTAH 

is unnecessary to bale hay that is to be consumed on 
the farm or sold for local consumption. Hay that is 
to be shipped must be baled to reduce its bulk and 
make it more convenient to handle. The size of the 
bale is determined by the requirements of the markets 
in which it is to be sold. One hundred pounds is the 
usual size, though some markets require bales smaller 
and some much larger. On the Pacific Coast, where 



40 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



considerable hay is baled for the export trade, a great 
deal of it is double compressed. The ordinary bales 
are put into a hydraulic press and the size is reduced 
about one-half, so that a ton of double-compressed hay 
occupies only fifty-five cubic feet, or a cubic space less 
than four feet each way. Hay thus compressed secures 
lower freight rates than that in ordinary bales. The 
practice of baling from the cock, or even from the 
windrow, is becoming common in some sections, espe- 
cially on the Pacific Coast, where fine weather is always 
assured in the haying season (except near the ocean). 
When baled diredl from the cock or windrow it is nec- 
essary to let the hay get a little dryer than it needs to 
be for stacking to avoid heating in the bales, and the 
bales should not be closely bulked until they have had 
time to- " go through the sweat.' ' 

GRAZING THE AFTERMATH 

It is a common practice in this country to allow 
stock to run on the meadow after the hay is off unless 
it is desired to cut a second crop. In this case stock 
is usually turned in after the last crop is off. (Tim- 
othy makes only one crop of hay, while clover makes 
two, and alfalfa three or more in a season.) In the 
North there is little harm in this if the number of ani- 
mals is not too large. It is always unwise to let stock 
eat a meadow down very close, especially late in the 
fall. The meadow is much more liable to injury from 
cold in winter when left bare. It is decidedly bad 
policy to turn stock on a meadow in wet weather, for 
they puddle the soil and cut up the sod with their 
hoofs. Timothy should never be pastured close, for it 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



41 



is killed by too close cropping. In the Middle South 
a good meadow of the ordinary grasses, such as tim- 
othy, orchard-grass, fescue, and redtop, should never 
be pastured at all, and a Bermuda-grass meadow must 
not be pastured late in the fall. If it is, it is liable to 
freeze out. Johnson grass will not stand pasturing to 
any extent. If pastured at all closely it becomes 
patchy. 



IV 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES (Conduaed) 
LONGEVITY OF MEADOWS 



he length of time a meadow will last depends 
I * | on the grasses of which it is composed, on 
lallggll the climate and the character of the soil, and 
on the treatment it receives. Meadows of 
Bermuda grass, blue-grass, or alfalfa last almost in- 
definitely with proper treatment, and remain as prolific 
as at first ; in fact, the}' increase in productiveness 
for some years after they are laid down. Meadows of 
other grasses usually produce their largest yield the 
first year a crop is obtained, and will drop to about half 
this amount in one or two 3-ears more unless well 
manured. Even with good manuring, meadows of the 
common hay grasses of this country seldom remain as 
productive as they were the first year. Most of our 
meadows become weedy in a few years. A weedy 
meadow is an eyesore on any farm. The best remedy 
is to plow it up and run it through the regular rota- 
tion, so as to give a chance to destroy the weeds. If 
it is good arable land, and is not in blue-grass, 
Bermuda grass, 01 alfalfa, the best plan is to keep 
meadows down only two years, unless they are wanted 
for pasture for a year or two longer. It is, of course, 
recognized that special conditions may render it desir- 
able to keep a meadow down for a longer time. If 
42 



MEADOWS 



AND 



PASTURES 



43 



this is the case, it should be well fertilized and kept 
free from weeds. 

PASTURES 

Much of what has been said concerning meadows 
applies as well to pastures, and need not be repeated 
here. There are two really great pasture-grasses in 
this country — the blue-grass of the Xorth and the 
Bermuda grass of the South. To these we may add 
brome-grass of the Northwestern Prairie States. These 
are discussed in later chapters. Practically all the 
meadow-grasses are used more or less for pasture pur- 
poses ; in fact, there is scarcely a crop grown in this 
country that is not utilized to some extent for pasture. 
In California herds of sheep graze the leaves and 
tender shoots on grapvines after the fruit is harvested. 
In the South cattle are frequently turned into the cot- 
ton-fields at the end of the season, where they eat the 
leaves and immature bolls of the cotton-plant. All the 
cereals are used extensively for winter pastures, partic- 
ularly in the South, for which purpose they are ex- 
tremely valuable. All over the country stubble-fields 
and stalk-fields are pastured after the grain is harvested. 
Green crops of every description, including corn, sor- 
ghum, rape, etc., are more or less used as pastures, 
and when properly managed they furnish more abun- 
dant forage than the ordinary ha}' and pasture grasses. 

In the more thickly populated sections of the coun- 
try, especially on the better class of lands, there is a 
marked tendency to confine permanent pastures to 
rough land or land otherwise unsuited to cropping. 
It is contended that the amount of feed secured from 
such pasture-land is so small that the farmer cannot 



44 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

afford to devote good land to this purpose. There is 
much truth in this contention, particularly in view of 
the usual method of pasturing in this country, which 
is to throw all the pasture-land into a single inclosure 
and turn all the stock upon it. When land is pastured 
in this manner, if it is stocked sufficiently to keep the 
growth down, the yield of forage is small, for a small 
plant does not make as much growth in a day as a 
large one. On the other hand, if the amount of stock 
is too vSmall to keep the growth eaten down, much feed 
is wasted by trampling, and the grass is eaten closely 
in some places, while it is left to grow rank and coarse 
in others. 

The Michigan Experiment Station some years ago 
determined the relative yield of forage on grass-plats, 
part of which w r ere kept closely clipped, in imitation of 
pasture, the remainder being treated as meadow, and 
cut when more fully mature. The yield of forage on 
the plats treated as meadow w*as three to four times 
that of the others. This agrees w T ith the experience 
of farmers that meadow r s produce more feed than the 
same area in pastures. The practice of devoting only 
rough lands to permanent pastures, therefore, seems to 
be justified — at least in sections where farm-land is 
high-priced. 

Methods of pasturing prevail in many parts of 
Europe by which much more feed is obtained from the 
land. There cattle are frequently tethered in such 
manner that the area they can graze is only sufficient 
to furnish feed for one day. The next day they are 
moved far enough to secure another day's feed. In 
this way grass is eaten clean, and there is little or no 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



45 



waste from trampling. This method also permits the 
grasses to grow to proper maturity, so that the amount 
of growth is a maximum. Another method of accom- 
plishing the same end is to divide the pasture by- 
means of temporary or permanent fences, and allow 
the stock to remain in one inclosure till the grass is 
closely eaten before admitting them to the next. 
Meanwhile the herbage in the inclosure first pastured 
is allowed to grow up again before it is eaten dow r n a 
second time. Both of these methods require much at- 
tention from the herdsman, and are hardly practicable 
on farms where beef production is a prominent fea- 
ture. One or the other of these intensive forms of 
pasturing might be practiced with profit with dairy 
cows, sheep, or hogs. Both of them are close kin to 
the method of soiling. 

In many parts of the country the cereals are used 
extensively for pasture with excellent results. This 
te particularly the case in the South. Oats are used 
more frequently for this purpose than the other 
cereals, though in part of western North Carolina, and 
adjacent regions in adjoining States, a Southern va- 
riety of rye is used extensively. Around Sherman, 
Texas, a winter variety of barley has recently gained 
much favor, and is extensively used for winter pasture. 
It is said to yield more abundant feed than oats, rye, 
or w 7 heat, while stock eat it with greater relish. In 
favorable seasons — that is, when there is no drouth to 
check growth — any of the cereals sown the middle of 
September in the South will furnish considerable feed 
by the first of November. Stock may be kept on 
these pastures till in the spring, when the grains begin 



46 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



to throw up seed-stalks, after which, if the stock are 
removed, a fair crop of grain may be harvested. 

Good temporary pastures may be made in the 
North in summer by sowing winter cereals in the 
spring. A true winter cereal, if sown in spring in the 
North, will not head out that year, but will produce a 
fine growth of leaves which stock eat with a relish. 
They may also be pastured the following winter, and 
then produce a crop of grain the next spring if the 
stock is taken off early enough, except in the case of 
wheat, which is destroyed by the Hessian fly when 
sown in the spring and left over till next spring. For 
this reason, when winter wheat is sown in spring and 
used for summer pasture, it should be plowed up in the 
fall. 

When the cereals are used for pasture, particularly 
on clay soils, greater care should be taken not to allow 
stock on the field in wet weather than when pasturing 
grasses that form a dense sod. A clay soil may be 
practically ruined by the trampling of stock in wet 
weather, even where it has a good sod to protect it. 

PASTURE MIXTURES 

If questions concerning farm practice could be 
solved with pencil and paper, the problem of the best 
pasture mixtures would have been solved long ago. It 
is easy to figure out mixtures that ought to give abun- 
dant pasture from early spring till snow flies, and. in the 
South, the year round. This has been done repeat- 
edly for the American farmer, but he still sticks to his 
blue-grass and white clover or his Bermuda grass, as 
the case may be, thus depriving his stock of pasture 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



47 



for a considerable portion of the season of possible pas- 
ture. Whether the trouble lies with the farmer or with 
the mixtures it is not possible to say. Both are prob- 
ably to blame — the farmer for not giving the mixtures 
a more extended trial, and the mixtures for not giving 
better results when they are tried. Usually, when the 
American farmer wakes up to the fact that he is not 
getting sufficient income from his pastures, he aban- 
dons the use of pastures as much as possible instead of 
trying to make them productive enough to pay. There 
is room for a lot of demonstration work on this subject 
at the experiment stations. The methods used in 
Europe ought to be given a thorough trial here. Until 
this is done a good many people will always believe 
that the productiveness of English grass-lands could be 
duplicated here. There are some parts of the country 
in which blue-grass and Bermuda grass are quite satis- 
factory as pasture. There are man}' places where they 
are not. The use of brome-grass and alfalfa as a pas- 
ture mixture is mentioned elsewhere in these pages. 
This mixture deserves a fair trial over all parts of the 
timothy region where blue-grass is not highly pro- 
ductive. Mixtures of timothy, redtop, orchard-grass, 
tall fescue (the kind grown in Eastern Kansas), blue- 
grass, Canada blue-grass, and the clovers, including 
alfalfa, deserve to be tried extensively all over the 
northern half of the country for permanent pasture. 
Until this is more generally done it is impossible to 
state what the result would be. The writer believes a 
mixture of all the above varieties named would furnish 
more pasture in many parts of the country than the 
common mixtures do. 



48 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

There are only about four States of the Union that 
have as much as 50 per cent, of their area improved. 
Whatever may be said of the advisability of keeping 
good arable land in pastures, a great deal of this unim- 
proved land could be made into fairly productive pas- 
ture. In the blue-grass country this can be done by 
clearing off the rubbish, burning the leaves and litter, 
and scattering seed of such grasses as blue-grass, white 
clover, orchard-grass, and redtop. On rough hill land 
on the farm belonging to the Missouri Experiment 
Station, which, during the writer's schoolboy days, was 
covered by a dense growth of blackjack and postoak 
timber, there are now fine blue-grass pastures made 
in this manner. The productiveness of such pastures 
can be continued by keeping them free from brush and 
weeds. 

WEEDS IN MEADOWS AND PASTURES 

Weeds may be divided into three classes — namely, 
annuals, or biennials, which die 4 foot and branch when 
they have made seed; ordinary perennials, which die 
down to the ground in the fall, but the roots of which 
remain alive for several or many years; and perennials 
with creeping, or underground, stems, whose aerial 
stems die at the approach of winter, but whose under- 
ground stems live over. 

The way to eradicate an annual or biennial weed is 
to prevent it from making seed. The seeds of some of 
them may live for many years in the soil and send up 
a new crop of weeds annually. If they be cut back 
persistently, so that no new seed is formed, they can 
finally be eradicated. The hardest weeds of this class 
to handle are those which, when cut back, produce seed 



MEADOWS AXD PASTURES 49 

on short branches near the ground. They must be 
treated as the ordinary perennials. 

Ordinary perennial weeds must be cut off below 
the crown. This requires the use of the hoe, the spud, 
or, where very numerous, the turning-plow, which, of 
course, means reseeding the meadow or pasture. 
Perennials with underground stems are the most diffi- 
cult to deal with. Quack-grass (Fig. 8), Johnson 
grass, and Canada thistle belong in this class. The 
surest way to kill them is to harrow out as large a 
proportion of the roots as possible, and then summer- 
fallow the land, running over it as often as the weeds 
get. a start with some implement that shaves off a layer 
of the top soil. Weeds of this class that do not grow 
very tall ma}' be smothered out by such dense growing 
crops as millet, buckwheat, sorghum (sown thick), 
etc. Such weeds may also be killed by cutting them 
back so frequently that the}' have no chance to manu- 
facture and store up food enough in their underground 
stems to keep them alive. 

The weeds which infest grass-lands vary in differ- 
ent sections. In the North, whiteweed (Erigero7i phila- 
delphicus) is one of the most troublesome. In pastures 
this can be held in check by mowing, but when a 
meadow becomes infested with it the best remedy is 
to plow it up. Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) is probably 
the next most troublesome weed in grass-lands in the 
Xorth. It is particularly troublesome in old grass- 
lands, and its presence is believed to indicate an acid 
condition of the soil. A good application of lime, to 
correct acidity, and manure or fertilizer to produce a 
vigorous growth of the grasses and clovers, is said to 



FIG. 8 — QUACK- GRASS 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



51 



be the remedy for it. Sorrel seldom appears in grass- 
lands that are so treated as to keep up a vigorous 
growth. Its presence is a pretty good indication that 
it is time to plow up the sod and run it through a 
rotation which will give an opportunity to kill weeds 
and put the land in good heart. Some old timothy 
meadows are much overrun with plantain, especially 
on worn soils where the grass makes a feeble growth. 
It is unwise to keep meadows down on such soils after 
plantain becomes troublesome. 

In middle latitudes and in the Southern States 
broom-sedge (A?idropogo?i virginiats) is probably the 
most troublesome weed in grass-lands. It may be 
kept out by prompt removal with the hoe or spud as 
soon as it appears. Broom-sedge does not bother on 
land kept in condition to grow a good crop of grass, and 
causes trouble only in meadows and pastures several 
years old. When young and tender, stock eat it fairly 
well, and this has a tendency to hold it in check in 
pastures. When it becomes plentiful in a meadow, 
the best plan is to break up the land and grow a culti- 
vated crop. Brome-sedge does not invade land that is 
plowed once or twice a year. 

Bitterweed {Helenium tenuifolium) is very trou- 
blesome on over-stocked and poorly fertilized grass- 
lands in many parts of the South. It is particularly 
objectionable on dairy farms, since it affects the flavor 
of milk very unfavorably. To get rid of it fertilize 
well and reduce the number of stock kept on a given 
area, so as to give the grass a chance to run out the 
weed. Being an annual, it may also be killed by pre- 
venting it from making seed. 



52 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



On the Pacific Coast a species of fern (Pteris aqui- 
lina) is the worst weed in grass-lands, particularly 
west of the Cascade Mountains, in Washington and 
Oregon. It is provided with rather formidable under- 
ground stems, and is difficult to eradicate. It may be 
held in check by cutting twice or three times a season. 
When young and tender, sheep and goats will eat it, 
and it may be eradicated by stocking the land heavily 
with these animals. It does not bother much on land 
that is plowed eight or ten inches deep once a year, 
and hence is not very troublesome on well-cultivated 
fields. 

MANURING GRASS-LANDS 

The use of fertilizers is one of the most unsatisfac- 
tory subjects to handle in the whole range of agricul- 
tural science. It is now just one hundred years since 
the first carefully planned fertilizer experiments were 
laid out by a modern investigator. Sixty- two years 
ago Liebig's great work was published, in which the 
theory was announced that by analyzing the soil and 
the crop the chemist could prescribe the fertilizers to 
be applied in any given case. This theory was the 
basis of the work of the agricultural chemists for half 
a century. Innumerable fertilizer experiments have 
been conducted with the utmost care. The soil has 
been analyzed times almost without number. The 
constitution of the mineral matter removed from the 
soil by plants has been determined to a nicety. It is 
definitely known that chemical fertilizers frequently, 
we may say usually, exert a decidedly favorable influ- 
ence on growing crops. It is absolutely impossible, 
however, to say just what fertilizers or how much of 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



53 



them should be applied in any given case with assur- 
ance that the application will be profitable. It is 
fairly certain that fertilizers do not produce much 
effect on soils that are not pretty well supplied with 
deca}~ing vegetable matter, except in the case of cer- 
tain sandy soils that are always in good mechanical 
condition. Dr. E. H. Jenkins, of the Connecticut 
State Experiment Station, after a lifetime spent in con- 
ducting fertilizer experiments, and after reading the 
results of practically all the experiments of this kind 
that have been published, both in Europe and Amer- 
ica, at a recent gathering of agricultural chemists said: 
1 1 The only recommendation I can make with confi- 
dence is that barn-yard manure is a good thing to put 
on land." 

While we know that many farmers in the older 
sections of the country are using fertilizers with profit 
to themselves, it is necessary for every man to depend 
largely on his own experience in this matter. It re- 
quires long years of experimenting to arrive at reliable 
conclusions regarding the use of fertilizers. Several 
of our experiment stations are doing splendid work in 
this line. In time we may hope that they will be able 
to give us safe rules to follow. Regarding the use of 
barn-yard manure on grass-lands it is possible to 
make positive recommendations; as to the use of com- 
mercial fertilizers, if one will take the trouble to read 
the recommendations of different authorities it will be 
seen that we are quite in the dark. 

The farmer who probably produces the largest 
crops of hay in America makes the following state- 
ment concerning his practice in the use of fresh stable 



54 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

manure on his meadows : ' ' The grass-seeds are sown 
on well-prepared land in late summer. The land is 
manured before it is plowed for the grass crop. Xo 
top-dressing is used the first winter, as ' the young 
grass will not stand it.' The next winter the sod is 
top-dressed, as it is again the next. It is then plowed 
up for corn." Manure on this farm contains both the 
liquid and the solid excrement from the stock. 

On farms where manure is not plentiful it is con- 
sidered good practice to plow under a light dressing of 
manure in preparing land for grass. As a rule, no 
further dressing of manure is applied till the winter 
after the second haying season, when the sod is ma- 
nured before breaking it up for corn. Ten to twelve 
tons of barn-yard manure per acre is generally con- 
sidered a good dressing; four to six tons a light one. 

Sir John Lawes, whose valuable investigations at 
Rothamstead, England, extended over more than half 
a century, in speaking of the application of fertilizers 
to permanent grass-lands, says: "A dressing of dung 
once in five years, with two hundredweight of nitrate 
of soda each year for the other four } T ears, " was the 
best practice. 

Freer, another English authority, makes the fol- 
lowing recommendations regarding the season of the 
year in which to apply manure and fertilizers to grass- 
lands : Barn-yard manure should be applied during 
winter, and not later than the last of February; phos- 
phates and potash, by the first of March; ammonium 
sulphate, by the first of March; nitrate of soda, by 
April 15. 

Professor Soule, of the Tennessee station, recom- 



MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



55 



mends the application of fifty bushels per acre of well- 
slacked lime in preparing land for grass in that secftion. 
The lime should be applied to the land after plowing, 
and should be harrowed in. He recommends a top- 
dressing of fifteen tons of barn-yard manure per acre in 
addition to the lime, applied before sowing. If com- 
mercial fertilizers are used, apply 300 to 600 lbs. of 
a mixture consisting of 100 lbs. of sodium nitrate, 250 
lbs. of acid phosphate, and 50 lbs. of muriate of potash. 

Professor Lloyd, of the Mississippi station, recom- 
mends the following: Cottonseed meal, 800 lbs.; stable 
manure, 800 lbs.; kainit, 400 lbs.— composted, applied 
at the rate of 1 ton per acre, and plowed under; or, cot- 
tonseed meal, 500 lbs.; kainit, 300 lbs.; gypsum or 
slacked lime, 200 lbs. — applied after breaking, and har- 
rowed in just before seeding. On sandy soils use 300 
lbs. of phosphate instead of the kainit. 

Professor Mell, of the Alabama station, recommends, 
in preparing grass-land, the use of stable manure; or, 
ground bone, 300 to 400 lbs. ; cottonseed meal, 100 
lbs.; nitrate of soda, 50 to 100 lbs. 

Professor Killebrew, formerly of the Tennessee 
station, recommends the following application to be 
applied to grass-lands, presumably in early spring: 
Top-dress with 100 lbs. of nitrate of soda, and three 
weeks later with 100 lbs. of bone meal or superphos- 
phate. Where there is clover, gypsum may be ap- 
plied. Use stable manure freely after the fall rains 
begin; it is the best of all fertilizers for grass-lands in 
Tennessee. 



V 



THE SEED * 

SEED PRODUCTION 

HE production of grass-seed (not including 
I g | clover-seed) for the year 1899 is shown in 
g^jSjy Fig. 9. This map is based on the returns of 
the United States Census Bureau, and shows 
the area where grass-seed is grown in this country. 
As each dot on the map represents the production of 
10,000 bushels, only the centres of production where 
the raising of grass-seed is an important industry are 
indicated. The seeds of standard grasses are shown 
in Figs. 10 and 11. 

The State of Iowa leads in this industry, and fur- 
nishes nearly one-half of the grass-seed grown in the 
United States. Timothy is raised over a greater area 
than any other of the grass-seeds, but its production 
on a large scale is confined to regions near the north- 
ern and southern boundaries of Iowa. Millet-seed is 
grown over a large part of the Mississippi and Mis- 
souri valleys; but the seed which is most sought, and 
known in the market as Tennessee grown, comes from 
a comparatively small, area in the central part of Ten- 



* By Edgar Brown, in charge of the Seed laboratory of the United 
States Department of Agriculture. 

56 



THE SEED 



57 




FIG. 9 — PRODUCTION OF GRASS-SEED IN THE UNITED STATES 

nessee. The areas of seed production of the other 
grasses are more limited. : 

The famous blue-grass county about Lexington, 
Ky., furnishes most of the blue-grass seed, a small 
amount being saved in southern Illinois and along the 
border between Missouri and Iowa. Orchard-grass 
comes from near Louisville, Ky., on both sides of the 
Ohio River. (The method of gathering blue-grass seed 



FIG. 10 — SEEDS OF STANDARD GRASSES 

a, Meadow-fescue; b, English Rye-grass; c, Italian Rye-grass; d, Timothy; 
e. Redtop in the chaff: /, Redtop. chaff removed;^, Rhode Island Bent; 
/?, Orchard-grass. (G. H. Hicks, Year-book, Department of Agriculture, 
1898.) 

58 




FIG. II — SEEDS OF STANDARD GRASSES 

cz, Rescue-grass; b, Texas Blue-grass; c, Chess, or Cheat; d, Canada 
Blue-grass; e, B romas inermis; f\ Kentucky Blue-grass. (O. H 
Hicks, Year-book, Department of Agriculture, 1898.) 

59 



60 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

is seen in Fig. 12, and of curing it in Fig. 13.) Southern 
Illinois furnishes nearly all the redtop seed, a small 
amount coming from southern New Jersey. Marshall 
County, in northern Kansas, produces practically all 
of the meadow-fescue seed. A little Canada blue-grass 
is saved in western New York, but the bulk of it comes 
from the flat clay country along the northern shore of 
Lake Erie, west of the Niagara River. Aside from 
Canadian timothy, orchard-grass and Bromus biennis 
are the only standard grass-seeds which are imported in 
an} T quantity. During the }*ear ending June 30, 1904, 
180,239 lbs. of New Zealand orchard-grass were im- 
ported, and during the same time 298,654 lbs. of 
Bromus inermis ) mostly coming from Russia through 
Germany. Broi?itis inermis is raised extensively in 
Minnesota and the Dakotas, and down the Red River 
Valley into Manitoba. Johnson grass seed is raised 
along the Gulf, from Alabama to Texas. Bermuda 
grass seed is all imported from Australia, none being 
raised in the United States. As this grass is becoming 
more favorably known, the amount of seed imported 
is increasing annually. English and Italian rye-grass 
seed mostly comes from Scotland and Ireland. The 
seed of the less common grasses, such as tall fescue, 
sheep's-fescue, the bent grasses, and sweet vernal, are 
not saved in this country to any extent, but are im- 
ported from the Continent of Europe, mostly from 
France and Germany. 

COST OF SEEDING DIFFERENT GRASSES 

The cost of seed sufficient to sow an acre of various 
grasses is shown in the following table. The prices 



62 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



are taken from the current catalogue of a well-known 
seed house, and are there quoted for seed in hundred- 
pound lots. The quantity of seed to sow per acre, 
shown in the first column of figures, is in some cases 
less than half that recommended in the catalogue: 



COST OF SEED PER ACRE 





Lbs. 


Price 


Cost 




Cents 


Per A ere 




15 




$ .97^ 




25 


8 


2.00 


English rye-grass 


25 


8 


2.00 


Redtop 


16 


15 


2.40 




20 


14 


2.80 




20 


16 


3.20 


Canada blue-grass 


30 


12 


3.60 


Orchard-grass 


24 


l % 


4-56 


Kentucky blue-grass 


40 


16 


6.40 


Tall oat grass 


30 


25 


7 50 




25 


45 


11.25 



The low price of timothy is due largely to its good 
seed habits, because of which so much of this crop is 
grown as to render the seed a standard article of com- 
merce. On account of the low price, together with the 
small size of the seed, it costs less than half as much 
per acre to seed with timothy than with any other cul- 
tivated grass. 

The low cost of rye-grass seed is due to the great 
abundance of these seeds produced in England and on 
the Continent of Europe, where they are the leading 
grasses. The high price of tall fescue seed is due 
largely to the small amount produced. There is no in- 
trinsic reason why it should command a higher price 



Q 
W 
W 



o 

I 

w 

— 

- 

u 

o 

l-H 

o 



o 

t-H 



64 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

than meadow-fescue. From the table it is seen that the 
cost of some varieties of seed, such as tall fescue and 
tall oat-grass, is so high as to be well-nigh prohibitive. 
This difference in cost undoubtedly has much to do 
with the lack of popularity of many grasses, even in 
sections where the}^ are superior to others. 

WEIGHT PER BUSHEI. 

In most trade centres the sale of seed by the meas- 
ured bushel has been abandoned, and the much more 
satisfactory method of selling by the hundred pounds 
substituted. However, the weight per bushel is highly 
important as an approximate indication of quality, 
as it determines very closely the amount of chaff, 
although giving no information regarding weed seeds 
and adulterants. The recognized weights for the 
heavier grass-seeds, such as timothy and millet, repre- 
sent a good grade, while with the lighter seeds, such 
as blue-grass, orchard- grass, and redtop, the weight 
per bushel of good seed is considerably heavier than 
that commonly used. In most States the legal weight 
of Kentucky blue-grass is 14 lbs., but well-cleaned 
seed of good quality weighs from 24 to 28 lbs. Or- 
chard-grass, w r hich is usually considered as 14 lbs., 
should weigh from 16 to 18 lbs. While chaff redtop 
often weighs 8 lbs. or less, good, solid, recleaned 
seed weighs 40 lbs. One of the best safeguards in 
buying the lighter grass-seeds is to have the dealer 
determine the weight per bushel, which should, in all 
cases, come up to the w r eight shown in the following 
table : 



THE SEED 



65 



TABLE SHOWING THE WEIGHT PER BUSHEL OF GOOD QUALITY, 
WELL-CLEANED SEED OF THE COMMON GRASSES 

Weight 

per Bushel 

Bent, Creeping 20 

Bent, Rhode Island .15 

Bermuda Grass 36 

Blue-grass, Canada , . . 20 

Blue-grass, Kentucky 28 

Bromus inermis 14 

Fescue, Meadow 27 . 

Fescue, Tall 24 

Fescue, Sheep's 16 

Johnson Grass 28 

Meadow-foxtail 14 

Millet, Common 50 

Millet, Hungarian ........ 50 

Millet, German 50 

Millet, Golden Wonder 50 

Millet, Broom-corn 60 

Orchard-grass -. 18 

Redtop 40 

Rye-grass, English 28 

Rye-grass, Italian 24 

Sweet Vernal 15 

Tall Meadow Oat-grass ...... 14 

Timothy 45 

WEED SEEDS 

The weed seeds found in commercial seeds are not 
necessarily the most common weeds in the fields from 
which the seed is saved. Only those will occur which 
ripen at about the same time as the grass-seed and are 
not easily cleaned out. Grass-seeds contain, on the 
average, a much smaller percentage of weed seeds than 



66 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

clover, but there are a number of kinds usually present. 
In timothy the two most common weeds are pepper- 
grass (Lepidium virginicum) and false flax (Camelina 
sativa), the latter being abundant in Canadian seed and 
especially difficult to clean out. In addition to these, 
timothy often carries sorrel {Rumex acetosella) , narrow- 
leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata) , green foxtail 
{ChcFtochloa viridis) , five-finger (Poteutil/a monspelien- 
sis), curled dock (Rumex crispus), and lady's thumb 
(Chenopodium album). 

New Zealand orchard-grass contains more or less 
seed of velvet-grass (Holcus lanatus), and its presence 
may be taken as good evidence of the origin of the seed. 
Chess (Bromus secalijius) , ox-eye daisy {Chrysanthe- 
mum leucanthemum) , slender-rush (Juncus tenuis), 
peppergrass (Lepedium virginicum), narrow-leaved 
plantain, five-finger, and sorrel are also frequently 
found. 

Kentucky blue-grass usually contains seed of some 
of the sedges (Carex spp.), slender- rush, and often 
shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) , chickweed 
(Cerastium spp.), peppergrass, and sorrel. 

Dealers frequently attempt to distinguish Canada 
from Kentucky blue-grass by running the hand into the 
seed to see if Canada thistle spines are present. As Ken- 
tucky blue-grass frequently contains spines of horse- 
nettle (Sola?ium carolinense) , which closely resemble 
those of Canada thistle, this test cannot be relied upon 
and is apt to be misleading. Contrary to the common 
belief, Canada blue-grass seldom contains seed of 
Canada thistle, although the spines are usually present. 
While the seed is much easier cleaned than that of 




FIG. 14 — WEED-SEEDS 
a, Peppergrass (Lepidinm virginicum) ; b, Slender Rush (Juncus tennis) ; 
C Velvet-grass {Holcns lanatus) ; c/, Fivefinger (Potentilla monspe/iensis) ; 
<?, Oxeye Daisy (Chrysanthemum lencanthemnm) ; /, Sorrel (Rumex 
acctosella); g False Flax (Camelina sativa) \ h. Canada Thistle 
( Ca ttrf m a rvensis) . 

67 



68 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



Kentucky blue-grass, it often contains dog-fennel (A?i- 

themis cotida) , peppergrass, and five-finger. 

Redtop seed usually contains but few weed seeds, 
among the most common being slender-rush and sor- 
rel. (The seeds of some of the most common weeds 
are shown in Fig. 14.) 

ADULTERATION 

A few of our common grass-seeds are frequently 
and wilfully adulterated. The most important of these 
are orchard-grass and Kentucky blue-grass. Orchard- 
grass is most often adulterated with meadow-fescue, 
although English rye-grass is sometimes used. These 
seeds cost about half as much as orchard-grass, and 
resemble it so closely that the adulteration is onl}- 
detected on close examination. The velvet-grass seed 
always found in Xew Zealand orchard-grass is har- 
vested with it and not mixed intentionally. 

But few seed-dealers can distinguish Canada from 
Kentucky blue-grass seed. These two resemble each 
other so closely that a careful comparative study with 
a hand-lens is necessary before a person can separate 
them. 

When a buyer is offered two lots of seed as Ken- 
tucky blue-grass, one containing a large percentage of 
Canada, and the other pure Kentucky, he will usually 
choose the adulterated sample, because it is brighter 
and cleaner, and is offered at a slightly lower price. 
Although but little Canada blue-grass seed is sold as 
such in the United States, there is an annual importa- 
tion of from 450,000 to 750,000 lbs., which is practi- 
cally all sold as Kentucky blue-grass seed. 



THE SEED 



69 



Rhode Island produces what little Rhode Island 
bent is harvested in this country. Considerable creep- 
ing bent is imported, and often substituted for the 
Rhode Island. 

The seed of the annual sweet vernal is practically 
indistinguishable from that of the true perennial sweet 
vernal, and the use of the cheap annual seed as an 
adulterant is frequent. Redtop sells for about double 
the price of timotlry, and very often redtop carries from 
15 to 20 per cent, of timothy as an adulterant. The 
adulteration is likely to go unnoticed unless the sam- 
ple is carefully examined. 

GUARANTEED SEEDS 

The selling of guaranteed seeds is practically un- 
known in this country. Instead, all of the principal 
seedsmen print on their seed packages and bills the 
following disclaimer clause, adopted by the American 
Seed Trade Association: 

" gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to 

description, quality, productiveness, or any other matter of 
any seeds, bulbs, or plants we send out, and we will not be in 
any way responsible for the crop. If the purchaser does not 
accept the goods on these terms, they are at once to be re- 
turned." 

The use of such a clause is in sharp contrast to the 
practice adopted by some of the English seed firms. 
For example, James Hunter, of Chester, England, 
prints in his price-list for 1904 a table showing the 
guaranteed percentage of germination, and the mini- 



70 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

ber of germinating seeds in a pound. The following 
are taken from his list : 



KIND OP SEED 


Germination 
Per cent. 


(jrerm mating' 
Seeds 
Number in 1 lb. 


Blue-grass, Kentucky 

Meadow-fescue 


85 


1,581,000 


99 


233.640 


Meadow-foxtail 


90 
95 


441,000 


Orchard-grass 


404,700 


Rve-grass, English 

Rye-grass, Italian 


96 


214,080 


98 


264,600 




96 


236,160 




90 


124,200 




98 


1,293.600 


Sweet vernal 


80 


590,400 



Since the American seedsmen give no form of guar- 
antee with their seeds, buyers must determine for 
themselves the quality of seed offered for sale. 

There is a great need for more regularly established 
seed-testing stations, where farmers may send samples 
of seed for analysis, and so know the relative value of 
seeds offered on the market, and consequently secure 
the quality of seed desired at a reasonable price. 

SEED CONTROL AND SEED TESTING 

While properly framed seed laws would tend to 
improve the quality of seed on the market, farmers are 
not helpless in the absence of such laws. Good seeds 
will be supplied whenever the buyer demands them if 
the dealer know 7 s that w 7 hat he offers is to be tested 
and the purchase made according to the result of the 
test. This is the system which has improved the qual- 
ity of seeds in Europe, and any one can send samples 
to any of the numerous European seed-testing stations 



THE SEED 



71 



and have tests made. Fertilizer inspection is so thor- 
oughly established in the United States that many of 
the State agricultural experiment stations receive a 
considerable part of their income for their chemical 
department — at least, from the analysis of fertilizers. 
While a similar system of inspection may not be prac- 
tical with reference to the sale of seeds, it is more im- 
portant to know the quality of the seeds to be sown 
than the analysis of the fertilizer to be used. 

The subject of seed testing has received little at- 
tention in the United States as compared with that 
given it in Europe. Hicks * says, under the heading, 
' ' Seed Control in Europe ' ' : 

' ' European seed control may be said to have origi- 
nated in 1869, when Dr. Nobbe, director of the experi- 
ment station at Tharand, Saxony, began to devote his 
attention to the impurities and low germinating power 
of many commercial seeds for which the German 
farmer was paying fancy prices. The publication of 
the results obtained by him excited much comment 
and laid the foundation for the present extensive sys- 
tem of European seed control. At the present time 
there are seed-control stations in all of the principal 
countries of Europe, more than forty existing in Ger- 
many alone. In some cases these are distinct institu- 
tions, but frequently this work is done in connection 
with agricultural experiment stations, the majority of 
which devote more or less attention to the subject. 
Some countries and States have general laws concern- 
ing fraud which may be used to cover seed adultera- 



* Hicks, G. H. 11 Pure Seed Investigation." Year-book, United States 
Department of Agriculture, 1894. 



72 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

tion, but, so far as we have been able to learn, there 
are no laws requiring English or Continental seedsmen 
to guarantee their wares. The work of the seed- 
control stations, however, has created such a public 
sentiment in favor of pure seed that the best class of 
dealers submit samples of their seeds to be tested by 
the stations, which furnish, for a stipulated price, a 
guarantee of the vitality and purity of the seed from 
which the samples were taken." 

Several of the State agricultural experiment sta- 
tions have given more or less attention to seed testing, 
but in most cases the facilities for doing the work are 
limited and the total amount done is small. In 1894 
seed testing was begun by the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C, and has 
been continued by the Seed Laboratory since that 
time. Samples of seed sent to this laboratory for test 
w 7 ill be examined for mechanical purity and tested for 
germination free of charge for purchasers of seed, pro- 
vided samples are accompanied b}- a statement giving 
the name and address of the firm from w^hich the seed 
w r as purchased, and the price paid. While the farmer 
is able to judge the general quality of a sample of tim- 
othy by a careful examination, he is not able to detect 
adulterations of the less common grasses or estimate 
the per cent, of the seed which will grow. 

. HOME TESTING 

Many of the more common grass-seeds, such as 
timothy, orchard-grass, and millet, can be tested for 
germination at home. The simple home- tester shown 
in Fig. 15 can be made and used by any one. 



THE SEED 



73 



Mix the seed thoroughly and count out 100 or 200 
seeds just as they come, making no selection. Put 
them between a fold of cotton flannel or some similar 
cloth, taking care not to let the seeds touch one an- 
other. Lay the cloth on a plate, moisten it well, but 
do not saturate it, cover with another plate, and keep 




FIG. 15— HOME-MADE S. ED-TESTER 
A Closed; B, Open 

in a warm room where the temperature will not go 
above 86° F. The cloth should be moistened from 
time to time, and the sprouted seeds counted and re- 
moved every day. Grass- seeds are not as eas}- to test 
as clover and many of the vegetable seeds, for they 
require much more exact conditions, needing an alter- 
nating temperature. If a sample of grass-seed tests 
well by use of the simple method mentioned above, it 



74 FARM GRASSES OF THK UNITED STATES 



is safe to assume that it will grow well if sown, but if 
it does not germinate well, the seed should not be con- 
demned, as the conditions for germination may not 
have been right, and a sample should be sent for an 
official test, either to one of the State agricultural 
experiment stations, or to th£ United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The follow- 
ing table * gives the temperature at which germination 
tests should be made, and the length of time required 
to make tests : 







DAY FOR 


MAKING 




Temperature f 
Degrees, F. 


GERMINATION REPORT 


KIND OF SEED 








Preliminary 


Final 




68-95 


10 


21 


Blue-grass 


68-86 


14 


28 


Brome-grass 


68-86 


5 


10 


Meadow-fescue 


68-86 


5 


10 


Millet 


68-86 


3 


6 


Orchard-grass 


68-86 


6 


8 


Redtop 


68-86 


5 


Rye-grass 


68-86 


6 


14 




68-86 


5 


8 



* Circular No. 34 (revised), Office of Experiment Stations, United States 
Department of Agriculture, " Rules and Regulations for Seed Testing." 

f Seeds should be kept at the higher temperature for six hours, and at 
the lower temperature for eighteen hours each day; 



VI 



TIMOTHY (Pkleum pratense) 

Oimothy (Fig. 1 6) is frequently known as herd's 
grass in New England, though elsewhere, 
especially in the Middle and South Atlantic 
States, this latter name is applied to redtop. 
Timothy is by far the most important hay grass in 
America. In spite of the fa<5t that chemists tell 
us it is one of the least nutritious of the grasses, 
timothy, or mixtures in which it is the leading con- 
stituent, constitutes nearly three-fourths of the total 
area of tame hay and a much larger proportion of the 
market hay of the country. Even in the South, where 
it is not grown to any considerable extent, it is the 
principal hay on the markets of all the larger cities; 
in facft, no other true grass is recognized as a standard 
hay, except in restricted localities. There must be 
some reason for this apparent discrepancy between the 
chemical composition of timothy hay and its standing 
on the markets. 

In the first place, this grass has the best seed habits 
of any hay or pasture plant known. The seed from 
an acre of it will sow a larger area than almost any 
other grass. The seed is easily harvested and retains 
its vitality remarkably well. Being entirely unlike 
any other common seed, both in size and appear- 
ance, its purity can readily be judged by the farmer. 

75 



FIG. l6 — TIMOTHY 



TIMOTHY 



77 



The hay is easily cured, bears handling well, and may 
be cut any time between blossoming and the ripen- 
ing of the seed with comparatively little difference in 
the quality of the hay — at least, for horse feed. For 
these reasons, farmers prefer timothy to other grasses. 
On the other hand, timothy hay is exceedingly pala- 
table, particularly to horses, and it is the demand for 
horse feed in the cities that fixes the price of hay in 
this country. 

Again, horses that are kept for hire are frequently 
driven to the limit of endurance after a full feed. 
Such horses must have feed that will digest readily 
and not produce derangement of the digestive organs 
under these circumstances. For this purpose timothy 
hay has no equal. It is also probably true that too 
much stress has been placed by recent writers on the 
need of protein (nitrogenous material) in feeding- 
stuffs. A few years ago it was frequently the custom 
to value feeding-stuffs by the amount of protein they 
contained. Timothy, being low in nitrogenous con- 
stituents, was said to have little nutrition in it. It 
should be remembered, however, that an idle animal 
needs very little protein, while an animal at work 
usually gets the bulk of its protein from grain. Ex- 
perience has abundantly shown that timothy hay alone 
is an excellent ration for an idle horse, or even a horse 
with moderate exercise. These facts seem to justify 
the important place that this grass occupies in Ameri- 
can agriculture. There are circumstances under which 
other grasses deserve much more attention than they 
thus far have received in this country, as indicated 
elsewhere in these pages. 



78 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

The outstanding importance of timothy is due 
largely to the fact that, except in the alfalfa regions 
of the West, nearly all our hay is produced in the 
region to which timothy is best adapted. Perhaps 
hay production may be largely confined to the timothy 
region because no other grass has been found capable 
of taking its place in other sections. Certain it is 
that, except in the Far West, hay production and live- 
stock farming are nearly confined to the region of 
timothy, clover, and blue-grass, all of which have 
nearly the same distribution. 

The lack of forage plants and grasses, and, conse- 
quently, of live stock, in the Southern States is prob- 
ably due more to the cotton-plant than to any other 
one cause. Should the cotton boll weevil render 
cotton unprofitable in the South, there is abundant 
reason to believe that plenty of good grasses may be 
grown to make stock-raising profitable south of the 
timothy region. It is an interesting fact, referred to 
earlier in these pages, that nearly all the grass litera- 
ture issued by the experiment stations of this country 
comes from those States that lie either on the border 
of the timothy region or entirely outside of it. In the 
timothy region (where clover and blue-grass also 
abound) the grass question ceased to be a pressing one 
before the experiment stations were established. 

Fig. 17 shows approximately the distribution of 
timothy in this country. This map was constructed 
as follows : On a county map of the United States a 
large dot was placed in each county showing over 5,000 
acres of " other tame grasses" (mainly timothy, and 
mixtures in which timothy is the leading constituent), 



80 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

according to the census of 1900. In counties having 
from 500 to 1,500 acres, a small dot was placed ; two 
small dots were placed in counties having from 1,500 
to 2,500 acres, and so on. The border of the real 
Timothy Region is thus seen to traverse central Dela- 
ware and central Maryland. It includes in the timo- 
thy region the mountainous parts of Virginia, a small 
portion of northwestern North Carolina and of north- 
eastern Tennessee. Southwestern West Virginia is 
excluded. Thence the line runs irregularly through 
northern Kentucky, southern Illinois, and southern 
Missouri. Thence it runs northward, including one 
tier of counties in southern Kansas and three tiers in 
the north, and cutting across the southeast corner of 
Nebraska. It then follows the west line of Iowa, 
nearly to Minnesota, after which it takes an irregular 
course across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Timothy 
does very well in the eastern parts of Kansas, Ne- 
braska, and the Dakotas, but the enormous quantities 
of w T ild hay cut in those States (see Fig. 3) renders 
timothy comparatively unimportant there. A few 
large dots, scattered here and there near the border 
line, and quite generally in the Northern Rocky 
Mountain and Pacific Coast States, indicate centres in 
which timothy is more or less important. South and 
west of this . border line timothy is of little impor- 
tance, with the exceptions noted. It cannot stand the 
summer climate of the South, nor the arid or semi-arid 
conditions of the West. North and east of this line it 
has heretofore been the one great hay grass. Outside 
of it, it will, for the most part, thrive only under the 
most favorable conditions. In the Northwest the su- 



TIMOTHY 



8l 



. premacy of timothy has been threatened in recent years 
by brome-grass, and alfalfa is now invading the whole 
timothy region. In Montana, northern Utah, and 
southern Idaho, timothy thrives well on irrigated land, 
though it is not usually grown where alfalfa succeeds. 
In the mountain valleys of all these States, and of 
Washington, Oregon, and northern California, it is 
again the leading hay grass on cultivated lands. 

The following notes from experiment station pub- 
lications and agricultural papers in the border States 
indicate the position of timothy in these States : 

South Dakota Bulletin 45. — A paying crop through- 
out the Big Stone Basin and the Sioux Valley ; endures 
the cold and dry freezing of the Dakota winters, but 
suffers badly from the hot sun of July and August. 
Generally successful over the eastern part of the 
State. Does well also in some parts of the Black Hills 
region. 

1 Kansas Bulletin 102. — Succeeds well in eastern 
Kansas, but is uncertain in other parts of the State. 

Arkansas Bulletins 29 and 36. — Of little account, 
except on the best clay soils of northwest Arkansas and 
on the best bottom-lands of eastern Arkansas, but 
grown generally in northwestern part of State because 
of its reputation elsewhere. 

Alabama Canebrake Station Bulletin 9. — Grew 
well during fall and winter, but could not stand warm 
weather that came in May. Not a pound of hay could 
be cut from the plat. 

Southern Planter, January, 1903. — Makes but one 
crop in the South, 'and summer will kill it out. Better 
sow redtop and meadow- fescue. 



82 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

North Carolina Bulletin 108. — Sown in fall, it gives 
a crop of hay in May or June, but frequently does not 
survive the heat of summer. 

Tennessee Bulletin, Vol. IX., No. 2. — The best 
timothy lands in Tennessee are in the eastern valley, 
the central basin, and the northern and western coun- 
ties of west Tennessee. Adapted only to rich, moist, 
alluvial soils. (This last statement applies to all the 
border States.) 

Kentucky Bulletin 87. — Excellent on good loam 
soils. Will not thrive on light loam. Very little after- 
math. Generally sown with clover. Usually grown 
in the Blue-Grass Region, in the mountainous counties 
of the east, and on the strong alluvial soils of the ex- 
treme western part of the State. 

How different this from a Missouri Bulletin, and 
echoed in most parts of the timothy region proper: 
' ' The only hay grass grown to any extent in the 
State." 

In these border States and beyond them timothy 
succeeds only on rich, moist, alluvial soil. Even in the 
timothy region it is particularly adapted to this class 
of soils, but by no means confined to them. 

SEEDING 

In the heart of the timothy region it is usual to 
sow timothy with w 7 heat in the fall, adding clover in 
late winter or early spring. The usual amount of seed 
used is 8 to 12 quarts (12 to 18 lbs.) of timothy and 
about 8 lbs. of clover. The timothy-seed is usually 
placed in a special grass-seed compartment of the grain 
drill. Some farmers allow the timothy-seed to fall in 



TIMOTHY 



83 



front of the drill hoes, so that it is covered by them ; 
others allow the grass-seed to fall behind the hoes, 
leaving it to be covered by rain. It is generally recog- 
nized that the latter is not the best method of securing 
a stand of timothy, but from Illinois eastward it is fairly 
certain to result in a good catch. In years of light 
rainfall it sometimes happens that there is not enough 
moisture for both grain and grass, and the grass suf- 
fers. Sometimes also, when the grain is cut, a spell 
of hot, dry weather kills the tender grass, wdiich has 
previously been shaded by the grain. This is particu- 
larly the case if the grain is allowed to stand until it is 
dead ripe, as at harvest-time the season of dry, hot 
weather is close at hand. 

Even where wheat is not a very satisfactory crop, 
as on the rich, black prairie soils of northeastern Illi- 
nois, some farmers sow a little wheat, in order, as they 
say, to have a good place to sow timothy. On this soil 
timothy is not as popular as it once was, partly because 
wheat is less grown than formerly, and partly because 
the development of beef-raising has created a greater 
demand for pure clover hay and lessened the useful- 
ness of timothy on the farm. Doubtless, also, the 
abundance of hay in the Middle West more than sup- 
plies the city demand, and a smaller proportion of the 
hay growers grow hay for the markets than is the case 
farther east. Since most of them use the hay on their 
own farms, and as they usually have a larger number 
of cattle than horses to feed, they grow more clover 
and less timothy than the farmers of sections farther 
east, where hay is largely grown for horses in the 
cities. 



84 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

It is well known that when timothy is sown in the 
fall with grain it does not make a crop the next year. 
But it is not so well known, especially in the Middle 
West, that w T hen timothy is sown in late summer or 
early fall without a nurse crop it makes the best crop 
of its life the next year. In this case clover should 
be sown at the same time as the timothy, but there 
are doubtless large areas in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, 
and perhaps also in Minnesota and Wisconsin, where 
clover would winter-kill when sown in this manner. 
Since this method is so successful in the Eastern States 
it might be well for Western farmers to try it more ex- 
tensively. Oat-stubble would be particularly adapted 
for this purpose, as the grass and clover could be sown 
after oats early enough to get a good start before win- 
ter. If the method proves satisfactory it would enable 
the timothy grower to dispense with wheat in the ro- 
tation, particularly where wheat is grown mainly to 
have a place in the rotation to sow timothy. 

In New England, New York, and Pennsylvania 
three methods of starting timothy are in vogue. Many 
farmers use the method described above — namely, of 
seeding the timothy in the fall with wheat or rye, 
addkig clover in early spring. Both East and West 
the time chosen for sowing clover in this manner is in 
very early spring, at a time when the ground is lightly 
frozen and cracked " honeycomb " fashion. The seed 
falls, or is blown, into these cracks, and is thus cov- 
ered when the ground thaws. This is usually in late 
February or early March. 

Another method, used extensively by the most 
progressive farmers, is to sow all the grass and clover 



TIMOTHY 



85 



seed together in late summer or early fall (usually late 
in August) without a nurse crop. This gives an 
abundant harvest of hay the next year. On soils 
where there has been great difficulty in securing a 
catch of clover by the old method in recent years this 
method gives excellent results. How far west this 
practice would be successful the writer does not know, 
but it is certainly worth trying in Ohio and Indiana. 
Where this method prevails redtop and alsike are 
quite generally added to the mixture. The amount of 
alsike-seed used in such mixtures is usually only one 
or two pounds. The amount of redtop varies with 
different farmers, from a couple of pounds to half a 
bushel of seed in the chaff. These two grasses are 
quite generally used all over the East. The most suc- 
cessful farmer the writer has ever known uses the 
above method of seeding grass, his mixture contain- 
ing all four of the grasses mentioned. He sows the 
last week in August, and cuts three times the next 
year. 

The third method, sometimes met with in Xew 
England, is to sow all the grass-seed in the spring, 
either with or without grain. In this case no crop of 
hay is secured till the next year. It is not a plan to 
be recommended for general use where either of the 
others is feasible. 

South of the timothy region proper early fall sow- 
ing, without a nurse crop, is by all means the best. 
In this section it is also well to add some other peren- 
nial grass, such as orchard-grass, meadow-fescue, or 
tall meadow oat-grass. These are better adapted to 
the region than timothy, and, except on the very best 



86 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

soils, might replace it altogether. The}' are also bet- 
ter adapted to sowing with clover, since they mature 
at the same time that clover does. Spring sowing is 
particularly objectionable in the South, and the farther 
south the more undesirable it becomes. In the first 
place, spring-sown grass is likely to be taken by weeds, 
especiall} T by crab-grass. It is also liable to be killed 
by the summer heat. 

On the northwestern prairies the best practice is to 
prepare land in fall and sow grass and clover in spring 
without a nurse crop. There is usually not moisture 
enough for both grain and grass, while fall-sown grass 
would hardly stand the rigor of the first winter. The 
same is generally true on the irrigated lands of 
Wyoming and Montana. On the upland prairies of 
eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and northern 
Idaho, spring sowing is necessary, for during the win- 
ter there are liable to occur periods of clear weather 
in which the ground freezes at night and thaws in day- 
time, a condition quickly fatal to young grass. But 
in this section the land cannot be prepared in autumn 
with safety for two reasons : first, the winter rains 
would wash it, for the county is quite rolling; 
secondly, the dry winds of early spring would quickly 
rob the bare soil of its moisture, while a covering of 
wheat-stubble prevents this. The best plan is to plow 
the land in early spring, harrow it down, and sow the 
seed at once. At low altitudes in this section, as 
around Walla Walla and Pendleton, fall sowing is 
successful. In western Washington, western Oregon, 
and northern California timothy is nearly always sown 
in the fall. On sandy land in that section clover may 



TIMOTHY 



87 



be sown in either fall or spring, but on clay land it is 
always sown in spring. 

Timothy sown alone or with mammoth clover 
yields only one cutting a season. When mixed with 
common red clover two crops a year are cut, the first 
consisting of both clover and timothy, the second of 
nearty pure clover. 

In many localities, particularly where timothy hay 
is grown for market, it is customary to leave a meadow 
down for many years. In such cases the yield seldom 
exceeds a ton and a quarter a year after the first crop. 
This practice is hard on the soil, and cannot be con- 
sidered high-class farming. Yet, if kept free from 
weeds, pastured very lightly, and frequently top- 
dressed with good manure or with a complete fertil- 
izer, fairly good yields may be mantained for many 
years. 

FEED VALUE OF TIMOTHY 

The value of timothy hay for different kinds of 
stock depends on the stage at wdiich it is cut. For 
cattle it should be cut just after it is through bloom- 
ing. When the stamens of the timothy flower have 
just protruded from the glumes, it is popularly said to 
be in the first bloom. When the stamens have burst 
and shed their pollen, and hang limp and empty on 
their slender stalks, it is said to be in second bloom. 
This, or a day or two later, is the stage to cut it for 
cattle. During the next week or ten da} T s, after reach- 
ing the second bloom, timothy rapidly changes in 
character and flavor. Horses eat it more readily if cut 
w T hen the seed is about grown. It is also less washy 



88 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

when cut at this late stage, an advantage for horses, 
but a disadvantage for cattle. The hay is richer when 
mixed with clover, but unless the clover is bright and 
green horsemen object to feeding it. Unfortunately, 
clover (the common red clover) ripens a week or more 
ahead of timothy, and is, therefore, liable to be more 
or less over-mature when the hay is cut. 

In general timothy hay is better for horses than it 
is for cattle, though when cut early, and especially 
when mixed with clover, it is excellent feed for cattle 
that are supplied with plenty of protein in their grain 
feed. As already stated, it is the demand for horse 
feed in the cities that fixes the price of hay in this 
country. Hence timothy is the standard, and, fre- 
quently almost the only hay on our markets. In only 
two cases known to the author does any other hay lead 
timothy in favor with the horsemen. These are the 
bluestem {Agropyron ocddentale) of Montana and 
southeastern Colorado, and South Park hay (/uncus 
balticus) in Denver, Colorado. Brome-grass hay is 
perhaps the equal of timothy hay for horses, but it is 
as yet hardly known on the markets. 

AS A PASTURE GRASS 

As previously stated, timothy meadows are fre- 
quently converted into pastures at the end of the second 
year, and frequently also the slight aftermath is pas- 
tured where hay is cut. It does not stand grazing as 
w 7 ell as man}^ other grasses. Outside of the limits of 
the timothy region proper, as in the Dakotas, in Ten- 
nessee, etc., the best authorities advise against pastur- 
ing it at all. 



TIMOTHY 



8 9 



YIELD OF SEED 

The yield of all grass seeds is very variable. Three 
bushels of timothy-seed (a bushel weighs about 45 
lbs.) is considered a low yield, five is fair, and eight 
is good. Yields of ten or twelve bushels are sometimes 
obtained. When sown for purposes of seed-growing 
four to six quarts of seed (six to nine pounds) only 
is used. The price of the seed varies considerably, 
but it is always so low that it costs less to seed an acre 
of timothy than of any other grass. This is probably 
one reason why American farmers grow timothy almost 
to the exclusion of other hay grasses. 



VII 



THE BLUE-GRASSES 

KENTUCKY BLUE-GRASS {Poa pratensis) 

"Ever smelt Kentucky grass, 

Or heard about its blueness ? 
Seems as if the whole blamed world 
Was bursting out with newness. 

" Skies and folks alike all smiles — 
Gracious ! you are lucky 
If you spend a day in June 
Down in old Kentucky." 

— Alfred Munson. 



Slue-grass (June grass, Kentucky blue-grass), 
Fig. 1 8, is the standard pasture-grass of the 
country — at least, in those sections where 
tarne pastures are mostly found. When the 
American farmer speaks of grass he usually means 
blue-grass. It is the one grass celebrated in song and 
story. In the Blue-Grass Region of northern Kentucky, 
and in many parts of Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, 
and Ohio, blue-grass pastures are the pride of the 
thrifty farmer. Its palatabilhy to all classes of stock, 
the evenness of the sod it forms, the beautiful color of 
its verdure, and its increasing productiveness with 
age, if properly handled, all conspire to make blue- 
grass the king of pasture-grasses. 

It is in the Blue- Grass Region that fine horses and 
90 



FIG. l8 — KENTUCKY BLUE-GRASS 



92 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

beef-cattle attain their highest development in this 
country. Were it not for its habit of remaining dor- 
mant during the dry, warm months of summer, the 
length of time required to secure a good stand of it, 
and its comparatively low yield of forage, blue-grass 
would indeed leave nothing to be desired as a pasture- 
grass on soils to which it is suited. This is rather a 
formidable array of objections to bring against the 
"king of pasture grasses," but they are real, and 
the very general dependence on blue-grass for pastures 
leads many American farmers to the conclusion that 
they cannot afford to keep good land in pasture. This 
is particularly true in sections where the dairy industry 
is important. But in those portions of the country in 
which the production of beef is the leading feature of 
farming, blue-grass pastures occupy much of the most 
productive land; in fact, good pastures are indispens- 
able to the economical production of first-class beef 
and in raising horses on a large scale. For this reason 
we find these two industries most highly developed in 
the sections where blue-grass is at its best. 

Throughout the southern portion of its distribution 
this grass is called ' ' blue-grass "or " Kentuck}^ blue- 
grass." In Iowa and the central parts of Illinois, 
Indiana, and Ohio, the name ' ' blue-grass ' ' is generally 
used, while farther north it is generally known as 
M June grass." 

The name ' 1 Kentucky blue-grass ' ' originated from 
the fact that the grass first became prominent in that 
State. There are now sections of Iowa, Missouri, and 
Illinois in which blue-grass is nearl}^ or quite as pro- 
ductive and as much prized as it is in the Blue-Grass 



THE BLUE-GRASSES 



93 



Region of Kentucky. According to Bulletin 19 of the 
Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department 
of Agriculture, the principal centre for the commercial 
production of blue-grass seed is Bourbon, Fayette, and 
Clark counties, Kentucky, in the heart of the Blue- 
Grass Region. Considerable seed is harvested in the 
adjoining counties of Scott, Montgomery, Woodford, 
Franklin, and Jessamine. ' ' Most of the seed is secured 
within a radius of twenty-five miles from the centre of 
a triangle formed by lines connecting the cities of 
Lexington, Paris, and Winchester." In recent years 
considerable blue-grass seed has been harvested in 
southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Small quan- 
tities are also harvested in other States. 

Distribution. — Fig. 19 shows approximately the dis- 
tribution of blue-grass in this country. By referring 
to Fig. 17, it will be seen that blue-grass agrees very 
closely with timothy in its distribution. These two 
grasses and red clover, which has nearly the same 
distribution, undoubtedly account for the high de- 
velopment of livestock farming in the northeastern 
quarter of the United States. 

Each dot on the map shown in Fig. 19 represents a 
correspondent who, in answer to a circular letter, re- 
ported blue-grass as an important grass in his locality. 
The census returns give no clue to the area devoted to 
blue-grass. What little hay is cut from it is included 
in the ' ' other tame grasses ' ' of the census reports. 
The yield of blue-grass hay seldom exceeds half a ton 
per acre, except in very restricted localities on the 
north Pacific Coast, and it is therefore seldom cut for 
hay. 



THE BLUE-GRASSES 



95 



The distribution of blue-grass south of the glacial 
dritt is exceedingly interesting. In this region it is 
confined to the magnesian limestone soils of the geo- 
logical area known as the Cambrian. A great tongue 
of this limestone soil extends southward from Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, into northern Kentucky, a distance of 
about one hundred and ten miles, and is nearly one 
hundred miles broad. This constitutes the famous 
1 ' Blue-Grass Region ' ' of Kentucky. The geographical 
centre of this region is a point about twenty-two miles 
north of the City of Lexington, and it extends about 
twenty-five miles south of that^ity. It is in this re- 
gion that most of the blue-grass seed of the country is 
harvested. From this a narrow strip extends into 
Tennessee, and there spreads out and occupies the 
V central basin" of that State. Blue-grass again ap- 
pears in the mountain valleys of eastern Tennessee and 
western Virginia, where it is an important pasture- 
grass. It appears more sparingly in the hill country 
of the western Carolinas, northern Georgia, and north- 
ern Alabama. Some blue-grass is also grown on the 
black, sticky prairie soils of northeastern Mississippi. 
The Cambrian soils above referred to are the only 
southern soils that at all resemble those of the region 
north of the Ohio River, and it is only on them that the 
type of farming prevalent in the North is found in the 
South. Aside from the exceptions just noted, blue- 
grass is confined rather stridtly to the glacial drift of 
the Northern States. Its very general distribution 
over the drift area is supposed to be due to the lime, 
magnesia, and, perhaps, potash in these soils. Climatic 
conditions are also more favorable to blue-grass in the 



96 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

North, and it is not so particular as to soils in that re- 
gion as it is in the South, where the long, hot summer 
season is fatal to it, except under the most favorable 
conditions. In the extreme southern portion of its 
range it is decidedly shade loving, and even as far 
north as Minnesota it luxuriates in the shade of open 
woodlands. The writer has seen large areas of blue- 
grass cut for hay in woodlands in the vicinity of Min- 
neapolis. It makes excellent hay, but the yield is low. 

BLUE-GRASS PASTURES 

While blue-grass is more generally distributed over 
the northeastern portion of the United States than any 
other grass except timothy, it is only in comparatively 
limited areas that it is sufficiently productive to induce 
farmers to devote their best lands to it. Fine blue-grass 
pastures are common in the Blue-Grass Region of Ken- 
tucky, in central and northern Missouri, eastern Kan- 
sas, on alluvial soils in eastern Nebraska, in all of Iowa 
(except the northwestern portion), in Illinois, Indiana, 
and Ohio. Elsewhere they are less frequently seen, and 
much of the land occupied by blue- grass is so overgrown 
with weeds and brush, and so badly managed generally, 
as to be of little value. No grass equals it for pasture 
purposes in open woodlands and on rough, untillable 
land throughout its range, but on good arable land, 
where the ordinary crops can be grown, its usefulness 
is limited to comparatively small areas. Yet it is in just 
these areas that the best horses and cattle are found in 
this country . 

In the northern portions of its range blue-grass fur- 
nishes most feed in spring and fall, remaining dormant 



THE BLUE-GRASSES 



97 



during the hottest portion of summer and being cov- 
ered too deeply with snow in winter for stock to reach 
it. Farther south the dormant period of summer 
is more pronounced, but the slighter depth of snow 
makes it available as a winter feed, for which it is 
justly prized in the latitude of southern Iowa and south 
to the limits of its range. When winter pasture is de- 
sired it is wise to keep stock off blue-grass pastures in 
the fall. 

One of the most valuable characteristics of blue- 
grass is its exceeding palatability to all kinds of stock. 
This is fully as important as its well-known nutritive 
quality. Stock eat it so readily as to render blue-grass 
pastures the most valuable adjunCt to grain in the fat- 
tening process. It is becoming more and more the 
practice in the region where good blue-grass pastures 
are common to fatten cattle while at pasture. Gains 
are made more cheaply on such pastures than in any 
other manner. Without them beef production requires 
the most favorable conditions for success. 

In most parts of the Blue- Grass Region it is custom- 
ary to provide other green feed for stock in midsum- 
mer, for pastures are liable to be short at that season, 
especially if rainfall is scanty. Those who manage their 
pastures most judiciously prefer to let them rest during 
midsummer, even in seasons where there is good feed 
on them, so as to make them more productive late in 
the season. 

It is well known that blue-grass is slow in starting 
on freshly seeded land. Many farmers never plow up 
a good blue-grass sod because of the difficulty of start- 
ing a new one and the great length of time required. 



98 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

One of the best authorities on the subjedt in the Cen- 
tral West says it takes three years under the best con- 
ditions to get a good stand of blue-grass, and that it 
takes ten, fifteen, or twenty years to get a first-class 
blue-grass pasture. "The very best blue-grass pas- 
tures we have ever seen are on lands that have never 
been profaned by the plow." The same authority 
recommends that every two or three years a blue- grass 
pasture should be disked throughly and sown to a mix- 
ture of mammoth, red, and alsike clover. Pastures 
thus treated furnish feed during midsummer when blue- 
grass is ordinarily dormant. 

The difficulty of starting blue-grass is increased by 
the fa6l that much of the seed on the market is of low 
germinating quality. It has been shown by the inves- 
tigations of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture that the cause of this is faulty methods of han- 
dling the seed during the harvest. Where large areas 
are to be harvested much of the seed is gathered too 
green. In curing it is customary to pile the freshly 
stripped seed in long, narrow ricks a foot and a half 
to three or four feet high. When heaped together 
thus the mass heats rapidly, and frequently the ger- 
minating power is thus completely destroyed. Tem- 
peratures of 148 ° F. have been observed in such ricks 
twenty hours after the seed was thus heaped, and 
only 3 per cent, of the seed retained its germinat- 
ing power at that time. So general was this faulty 
method of curing blue-grass seed a few years ago, that 
seed laboratories considered a germination of 25 per 
cent, excellent. Even now 45 to 50 per cent, is the 
figure usually given as the standard for germinating 



THE BL,UK-GR ASSES 



99 



power of prime blue-grass seed. Yet in tests of prop- 
erly cured seed 90 per cent, or more have germinated. 

Poor seed undoubtedly accounts for many failures 
in attempting to start blue-grass pastures. Unless the 
germinating power of such seed is known, it is pure 
guess-work to determine the amount required to secure 
a stand. Ordinarily 25 or 30 lbs. of good, germinable 
seed is sufficient to seed an acre, but ii is usually wise 
to use at least twice this much of the common run of 
seed on the markets. Seedsmen should be required 
by law to guarantee the germinating power of blue- 
grass seed, as well as other seeds. To do this it 
would be necessary to charge a higher price for the 
seed, but in the end it would be cheaper to the farmer. 
Under present conditions no seedsman, however desir- 
ous of furnishing only high-grade seeds, can afford to 
guarantee his wares, for he would be compelled to 
charge such prices that farmers generally would buy 
from his competitors inferior seeds at a price which 
appears to be cheaper, but which in reality is not so. 

There is no universal^ recognized way of starting 
a blue-grass sod. This is partly owing to the numer- 
ous failures of all methods from bad seed. Some 
farmers in the Central West scatter the seed in corn- 
fields in late summer or early fall. Others sow it with 
clover on wheat and timothy in early spring. Some 
prefer to sow on a light snow, while others sow at a 
time when the ground is lightly frozen and cracked, 
honeycomb fashion. On account of the length of time 
required to start a blue-grass pasture, it is quite com- 
mon for the seed to be sown when a timothy and clover 
meadow is laid down. By the time the meadow has 



LofC. 



IOO FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

been cut for hay two or three seasons there is usually 
a fair sod of blue-grass. These meadows are then 
converted into pastures, the timothy and clover gradu- 
ally disappearing as the blue-grass sod becomes well es- 
tablished. After a few years' use as pasture such fields 
are usually plowed up for corn. The amount of plant 
food that accumulates in a well-managed pasture of 
this kind enables the farmer to secure one or more 
heavy crops of corn. After running such a field 
through the usual rotation of the locality, it is again 
set to grass in the manner above outlined. The prac- 
tice just described is common in Kentucky, western 
Maryland, western Virginia, and in parts of all the 
other blue grass States. 

The value of blue-grass for pasture purposes in wood- 
lands has already been mentioned. Much land that 
is now occupied by useless brush could be converted 
into valuable blue-grass pastures if rightly managed. 
To do this it is necessary to clear off the underbrush. 
If practicable the dead leaves should be burned. 
Blue-grass seed may then be scattered in late win- 
ter, and in a few years, if the underbrush and weeds 
are kept down, a fair stand of grass can be secured. 
Blue-grass pastures, to be made profitable, must be 
kept free from brush and weeds, and not stocked too 
heavily. The best methods of managing a pasture so 
as to secure the largest amount of feed are more fully 
discussed in the chapters on meadows and pastures. 

In the New England States, where more or less 
permanent grass-lands occupy the greater portion of 
the tillable area, blue-grass is nearly always an impor- 
tant constituent of the herbage in meadows and pas- 



THE BLUE-GRASSES 



IOI 



tures. In the Northern Rocky Mountain States and 
in the Pacific Northwest many varieties of this 
species are found in the wild state, and they not in- 
frequently appear among the grasses on the farms. 
It is not very highly prized in those regions because 
of its low }deld of forage. Alfalfa, timothy, redtop, 
and orchard-grass all do well there, and yield much 
more feed. In a few limited areas in the State of 
Washington, especially in the western part, blue- 
grass is a troublesome weed. The variety found there 
grows very rank, and sends out formidable under- 
ground stems that make it difficult to eradicate. 

Blue-grass is the universal lawn grass in the north- 
ern half of the United States, and it has no equal for 
this purpose where the soil is suitable and there is 
abundant water to keep it green during the summer. 
White clover is usually sown with it in lawns; indeed, 
it does better when mixed with white clover. These 
t\vo plants are especially adapted to each other. The 
clover enriches the soil in nitrogen, greatly to the ad- 
vantage of the grass. 

CANADA BLUE-GRASS (Poa compressa) 

This grass is of interest chiefly from the fact that 
its seed is sometimes used to adulterate the seed of 
Kentucky blue-grass. It has some value for pasture 
purposes on sandy soils in the far North. It also does 
well on poor clay soils where Kentucky blue-grass 
fails. It is also a fairly good lawn grass for dry re- 
gions, but must be kept closely mown. If allowed to 
grow up, its wiry stems, when cut back, leave a coarse, 
hard stubble, very undesirable in a lawn. In color it 



102 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

is more nearly blue than an}' other grass. It does not 
grow so tall as Kentucky blue-grass, and may be dis- 
tinguished from it by its flat stems and bluer color. 
In eastern Ontario and in western New York it is 
sometimes cut for hay. The hay is highly prized, 
being preferred by horsemen to timothy, but the small 
yield renders this grass of little importance for hay 
production. 

TEXAS BLUE-GRASS {Poa arachnifera) 

This is a grass that is more or less favorably known 
over most of the cotton-growing States. It produces a 
very beautiful sward which retains its deep green color 
at all seasons of the year. It is worthy of general atten- 
tion in the South as a lawn grass. As is the case with 
Bermuda grass, it is difficult to start from seed, and it 
is usually started by planting small pieces of sod. The 
stems being upright, a sod can be separated into very 
small pieces, which should be set not over a foot apart 
each w T ay, as it does not form a sod as quickly as Ber- 
muda grass. This grass remains green winter and 
summer in the grass-garden of the Department of Ag- 
riculture at Washington. The difficulty of securing 
sod for starting Texas blue-grass is probably the chief 
reason why it is not more generally grown for lawn 
purposes in the South. It is gradual^ gaining ground, 
and may in time become important. It is rather too 
difficult to start to justify its general use as a pasture- 
grass. 



VIII 



THE MILLETS 



he term 1 1 millet 1 ' is applied in this country to 
g I four distinct groups of grasses. The most im- 
BUSS portant of these is that to which common millet, 
Hungarian grass, and German millet belong. 
We may call these the foxtail millets, from the shape 
of the heads. These grasses are varieties of the botan- 
ical species Chcetochloa italica. The next group con- 
sists of the varieties of the species Panicum miliaceum, 
known in this country as the broom-corn millets, from 
the fact that the head bears some resemblance to that 
of broom-corn. They have acquired considerable im- 
portance in the Northwestern Prairie States in recent 
years. The third group is usually known as Japan- 
ese millets. They belong to the species Panicum crus- 
galli, of which our common barn-yard grass is the best- 
known representative in this country. These millets 
are cultivated extensively in parts of Japan and China. 
Colorado grass {Panicum texanum) is sometimes called 
Texas millet. It constitutes the fourth group. It is 
not, strictly speaking, a cultivated grass, but consid- 
erable hay is made from volunteer growth of it in corn- 
fields in parts of Texas. The general discussion which 
follows applies only to the first two of the above 
groups, and more particularly to the foxtail millets. 

Millet was one of the crops grown by our prehis- 
toric ancestors. The seed is found in the debris 

103 



104 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

around the former habitations of the lake-dwellers of 
Europe. The date at which these people flourished is 
not known, but it was long before the dawn of history. 
Millet-seed seems to have constituted an important ar- 
ticle of diet with them, as it does to-day in many parts 
of Europe and Asia. In America the first of the above 
classes of millet is grown exclusively for hay ; the 
broom-corn millets are grown both for hay and for 
grain, but the grain is used here only for stock feed. 

The distribution of millet hay production in the 
United States, according to the Census of 1900, is 
shown in Fig. 20. This map shows clearly that the 
millet region lies along the western border of the 
humid region, from Texas to the Canadian line. In 
Iowa, northern Missouri, northern Illinois, and south- 
ern Wisconsin the millet belt extends eastward into 
the humid region. Middle and eastern Tennessee con- 
stitute an island, so to speak. Millet is grown spar- 
ingly in nearly all parts of the country, but the acre- 
age is too small in most sections to appear on the map, 
which was constructed by placing one dot in each 
county having 500 to 1,500 acres, two dots in counties 
having 1,500 to 2,500 acres, and so on. 

There is apparently no reason why millet should 
be more largely grown in Wisconsin, Illinois, Ken- 
tucky, and Tennessee than in other parts of the tim- 
othy region. The large acreage in the belt of States 
from Texas to the Dakotas is readily understood. 
Millet is a short-season crop (particularly the variety 
known as common millet) which may be sown late in 
June and still produce a good crop of hay, even in the 
Dakotas. This region is more subject to crop failures 



Io6 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

from drouth than the States farther east, so that millet 
has come to be relied on there very largely. If a crop 
of winter wheat is winter-killed, or even a spring- 
planted crop, such as corn, fails because of unfavorable 
weather after planting, the land may be sown to millet 
after it is too late to plant other crops. Having 
learned the peculiarities of the crop, farmers grow it in 
that section very generally, even in years when it is 
not needed as a catch crop. From Illinois eastward it 
is more distinctly a catch crop, and is not very gener- 
ally sown except in case of a shortage of other hay 
crops. 

Millet probably has a larger field of usefulness in 
the Eastern States than has heretofore been accorded 
it. In most of these States it is customary to grow 
only one crop a year on a given field. But it is pos- 
sible to grow a winter crop of rye hay and a summer 
crop of millet in most parts of the East, and both of 
these crops make good hay if properly handled. On 
farms where all the crops are fed, particularly on those 
which grow only the roughage and buy their grain, 
and therefore have an abundance of manure, and on 
which, in consequence, the soil does not particularly 
need the influence of leguminous crops, the above 
double-cropping system on a portion of the land is en- 
tirely rational. A few of the best farmers in the East 
practice this method on some fields. How far cow- 
peas w 7 ill replace millet in this role cannot be stated. 
They are coming into prominence for this purpose in 
the North and East. In good seasons the cow-pea 
yields fine crops of hay, but millet has the advantage 
of being somewhat drouth-resistant. On farms not 



THE MILLETS 



107 



well supplied with stable manure cow-peas should un- 
doubtedly be grown in preference to millet — at least, in 
the East, where drouth is not likely to interfere with 
their growth. It is possible that the cow-pea may, in 
time, displace millet as a catch crop in the Eastern 
States, but we do not yet know enough about this crop 
in the North to state what its possibilities are in that 
section. 

Millet has the reputation of being hard on the soil. 
Like sorghum, it is a heavy yielder, and makes large 
drafts on soil moisture and available plant food. It is 
also a coarse feeder, and for this reason it is particu- 
larly adapted to new land. In the West it is a favor- 
ite crop on newly broken prairie sod. It is also par- 
ticularly adapted to newly cleared land in timbered 
sections. It likes a loose, porous soil, such as is found 
in new fields; on old land it prefers sandy soil to clay, 
because of its greater porosity. Yet it is not partial 
t© poor land. A rich, porous soil, when put into fine 
tilth, is the ideal seed-bed for this crop. To get the 
best results the land should be thoroughly fined and 
not too much compacted before sowing millet-seed. 
Many farmers rebreak the land just before sowing this 
crop. Unlike wheat or alfalfa, it does not like a solid 
seed-bed. On a soil inclined to be heavy, after a mil- 
let crop is harvested care should be used not to plow 
the land when too dry, or it will break up cloddy. Mil- 
let is one of the best crops for taking the 1 ' new ' ' out 
of the soil. If old soil is not well handled millet will 
take the life out of it. If the soil is abundantly sup- 
plied with barn-yard manure millet will not hurt it, 
and few crops will give a larger yield of good hay in 



Io8 FARM GRASSES OF 'THE UNITED STATES 

less time. Millet is considered a good crop to precede 
wheat, because it leaves a solid seed-bed. It is also one 
of the best crops for smothering weeds. Even Canada 
thistle can make little headway in a thrifty crop of mil- 
let. It is claimed by some that it will completely 
smother Canada thistle and quack-grass, but in order 
to do this the season must be very favorable to the 
millet crop and the soil must be put in fine condition. 

On account of the rank growth of millet the hay is 
somewhat more difficult to cure than timothy. Fortu- 
nately it is not much injured by dew or rain, if allowed 
to dry properly before storing. No definite rules for 
curing the hay can be given, because the temperature 
and moisture content of the atmosphere have such a 
marked effedt on the rate at which hay dries out in cur- 
ing. It should lie in the swath longer than timothy, 
and when put up in cocks it should remain consider- 
ably longer than lighter kinds of hay. The writer 
has seen millet hay heat almost to the point of combus- 
tion from being put in the mow too early, though when 
stored it appeared as dry as hay is ordinarily when 
ready to put in bulk. Experience alone can determine 
the proper degree of dryness to insure safety from heat- 
ing. On account of its solid stems it is heavier than 
other kinds of hay, volume for volume, and packs more 
solidly, thus causing it to shed rain better. It can, 
therefore, be left, in the field to cure without great 
danger. 

Millet is cut for hay at various stages. Some cut it 
just as the heads begin to appear ; others, when it is 
in bloom ; while still others cut when the seed is ripe. 
The season at which millet should be cut depends on 



THE MILLETS 109 

circumstances. Like most other crops, the length of 
time required to mature a crop of millet depends on 
the season. Since it is grown largely as a catch crop, 
it is sometimes necessary to cut it early to get the hay 
out of the way for another crop. It undoubtedly makes 
good hay when cut even before it begins to head, if 
properly cured, but the yield is larger and the quality 
just as good if cut in bloom. The quality of the hay 
deteriorates after the seed begins to form, and it is un- 
wise to allow it to reach this stage unless a crop of seed 
is desired. In that case the seed should be allowed to 
get fully ripe. Hay from ripe millet is undesirable for 
two reasons: it is not so palatable nor so digestible as 
when cut earlier, and the hardened bristles become a 
source of annoyance and even danger to stock. Yet 
stock will eat millet straw from w T hich the ripe seed 
has been threshed, and some farmers consider this straw 7 
very good feed. 

Millet is well adapted for use as a green feed, 
and it is so used to some extent in the East, w 7 here the 
soiling system is coming to be generally pradliced 
on dairy-farms. It is strong feed, and should be used 
with care, particularly when fed in the green state to 
horses. It is also suitable for use as temporary pas- 
ture. If hurdles are used, and care is taken not to 
graze too closely, it may be grazed over three or four 
times in a season. 

The amount of millet seed required to sow an acre 
is about two pecks w 7 hen sown for hay, and one peck 
when sown for seed. In some sedlions millet is sown in 
rows and cultivated, when grow r n for the seed. When 
thus sown a bushel of seed is sufficient for six or eight 



IIO FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

acres. Seed grown in this manner is usually plumper 
and of better appearance than seed from thicker sow- 
ing. It is especially recommended to sow in rows and 
cultivate when growing millet on poor and w^edy soil. 
New land is preferred for seed growing because of the 
absence of weeds. In the case of the broom-corn 
millets, the seed of which is considerably larger than 
that of the foxtail varieties, about three pecks of seed 
is used, either for hay or for seed production. While 
the seed of German millet is smaller than common 
millet and Hungarian gra^s-seed, that variety does not 
stool out so much as the other two just mentioned, and 
for this reason the larger number of seeds in a given 
volume gives no thicker stand of German millet than 
the smaller number contained in the same volume of 
common millet and Hungarian grass. 

When grown for seed, millet may be cut with an 
ordinary twine-binder, and threshed the same as wheat, 
using, of course, finer riddles and less draft. The yield 
of seed is ordinarily from twenty to forty bushels per 
acre, though yields of eighty or more bushels have 
been obtained on good soil in favorable seasons. Ac- 
cording to Professor Crozier, the average } T ield in 
twenty-seven counties in Iowa in the year 1889 was 
twenty-seven bushels. In the seed trade Hungarian 
grass-seed is bought and sold on a basis of 48 lbs. to 
the bushel, while 50 lbs. is considered a bushel of com- 
mon and German millet. The legal weight of all three 
varieties is 50 lbs. per bushel in most of the States that 
have legislated on the subjedt. 

Millet seed is excellent feed for all kinds of stock, 
but the price is usually too high to justify its use for 



THE MILLETS 



III 



this purpose. On account of its small size and its 
hard covering, it should be ground, except for sheep 
and poultry. It is much used in mixtures for feeding 
birds, but it is considered more or less an adulterant in 
such mixtures, being inferior for this purpose to the 
seed of canary-grass. 

VARIETIES 

Foxtail Millets. — There are many varieties of 
this group of millets both in America and in Europe, 
but only three are of special importance in this coun- 
try. These are: Common millet, Hungarian grass, 
and German millet. Of these the first-named matures 
in the shortest time, and is the predominant variety in 
the northern part of the millet-growing section. Ger- 
man millet is the latest of these three varieties, and is 
the standard in the southern portion of the country. 
Hungarian is intermediate in length of season, and 
predominates in the Eastern States. Although each 
variety thus has a section of country in which it leads 
all others in importance, they are all sown more or 
less in all sections. On account of its short season, 
common millet is best adapted for late sowing, espe- 
cially in the North. It is also the best variety on poor 
soils, and resists drouth more than the others. On 
good soils, when it can be sown fairly early, German 
millet is the largest yielder. A typical form of foxtail 
millet is seen in Fig. 21. 

Common millet was the first variety to gain prom- 
inence in this country. The date of its introduction 
is unknown, but it has been grown more or less for 
more than a century. It does not grow so large as 



FIG. 21 — TYPICAL FORM OF FOXTAIL MILLET 



THE MILLETS 



113 



the other two varieties mentioned above, but the heads 
are larger and more open than those of Hungarian 
grass. Its seed is yellow, oval in outline, and is some- 
what larger than that of Hungarian grass. It pro- 
duces several stems from the same seed. 

Hungarian grass has the smallest and most com- 
pact head of any of these three varieties. Its seed is 
shaped like those of common millet, but is mixed in 
color, part being yellow, part dark purple, and part 
intermediate between these two colors. Like common 
millet, it produces several stems from the same seed. 
It is intermediate in the length of season between the 
other two varieties, and is most popular in the Eastern 
States, where the seasons are short and where drouth 
is not so common as it is in the West. It makes large 
yields on good soil in moist seasons. It was distributed 
by the Patent Office about 1854, and immediately rose 
into prominence, particularly in the West. It has 
since gravitated eastward, because of its better adapta- 
bility to the climatic conditions prevailing there. It 
had previously been grown to some extent in this 
countr} 7 under a different name. 

German millet is a late-maturing variety having 
large, lax, nodding heads. Ordinarily it produces 
only one stalk to the seed, but these stalks grow taller 
and coarser than those of either of the other varieties. 
It is a large yielder, and is particularly popular in 
the Central and Southern States, where its long season 
is no disadvantage. It may be sown as late in the 
South as common millet in the North. It sometimes 
matures when sowm as late as the first of July, even in 
the Central States. It is more drouth-resistant than 



114 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Hungarian grass, and is deservedly popular in Texas, 
Oklahoma, and Kansas. A great deal of the seed of 
German millet is grown in Tennessee, and Tennessee- 
grown seed has a very high reputation in the markets. 
The seed of this variety is yellow, and is considerably 
smaller than that of common millet. In shape the 
Southern-grown seed is round, but when taken North 
and sown the seed produced there assumes the oval 
shape of common millet seed. For this reason there 
has been considerable confusion among Northern seeds- 
men concerning the identity of these two varieties. 
Northern-grown millet seed is somewhat earlier than 
the Southern grown, but not nearly so early as com- 
mon millet. German millet came into prominence 
about 1875. 

The variety known as Golden Wonder has been 
grown quite generally during the past few years. It 
originated in Minnesota in 1884. It resembles German 
millet more closely than it does either of the other two 
prominent varieties, but is not so drouth-resistant. It 
is noted for the large size of its heads. It is a late 
variety, resembling German millet in this respect, as 
w r eli as in its tendency to produce only one stem from 
each seed. 

Broom-corn Millets. — Of the numerous varie- 
ties of this group of grasses, onl}- a few have been tried 
on an extensive scale in this countr}\ They differ 
from the foxtail millets in man}' important particulars. 
The stems are much larger, not so tall, and the head, 
as seen in Fig. 22, is not c}'lindrical. The seed is also 
much larger and of a different shape. Most of the 
varieties introduced into this country are much earlier 



Il6 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

than the earliest of the foxtail millets; hence, the)' can 
be sown later. In fact, the millets generally should 
be sown later than most other crops, as the seed does 
not germinate readily till the soil is thoroughly warm. 
Because of their very short season, the broom-corn 
millets are especially adapted to the Far North. They 
are also more drouth -resistant than the foxtail millets. 
In recent years, at least, one variety has gained promi- 
nence in the Dakotas and adjacent States under the 
name ' ' Hog Millet. ' ' Red Lump is another promising 
variety introduced by the Department of Agriculture 
a few years ago. Another good variety has more re- 
cently been distributed by the Department under its Rus- 
sian name of "Proso. M These varieties do not yield 
a large amount of forage, and they are not much grown 
for hay, but they yield a great abundance of seed, 
which is valuable for feed. Their worst fault is their 
tendency to scatter the seed. The top of the panicle 
ripens first, and the seed from this portion frequently 
falls out before the lower part of the head is ripe. 
When grown for poultry it is not necessary to harvest 
the seed if the field is near enough to the farmstead 
for the poultry to range on it. 

Japanese Millets. — These are varieties of the 
species Panicum crus-galii. The best-known represen- 
tative of the species is the barn-yard grass (Fig. 23), 
a common weed on moist, rich soils in every section 
of the country. In Arizona and southern California 
certain Indian tribes are said to make use of the 
seed of this grass for food. In parts of the West and 
South volunteer growths of barn-yard grass are fre- 
quently cut for hay. It yields a large amount of coarse 



FIG. 23 — BARN-YARD GRASS 



Il8 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

hay, which is readily eaten by stock. This weed is 
evidently worthy of more attention as a fodder-plant 
than it has heretofore received, particularly for moist 
soils in regions where timothy does not thrive. It is 
strictly an annual, and is therefore not adapted to per- 
manent meadows. It has been known to yield four tons 
of very good hay per acre on land where its seed was 
scattered by floods in the river-bottoms of northern 
Louisiana. A variety of this grass was exploited re- 
cently under the name "Billion-dollar grass." The 
sphere of its usefulness seems to be confined to wet 
meadows in the Far West and in the South. 

During the past few years several varieties of this 
group have been introduced into this country from 
Japan, and have been tested by many of the experiment 
stations, particularly in the West. Some of them pos- 
sess considerable merit, but none of them are as yet 
widely cultivated. In Japan and parts of China, espe- 
cially in sections w T here rice does not thrive, these mil- 
lets are important crops. They have been called Jap- 
anese millets in this country because the principal 
varieties were introduced from Japan. 

Texas Millet (Pa?iicum texanum) . — This grass 
is a common weed on rich river-bottom lands in central 
Texas. The name most commonly used for it in that 
section is Colorado grass, since it occurs abundantly in 
the vicinity of the Colorado River in Texas. It is also 
sometimes called Austin grass, having spread down 
the Colorado River from Austin some years ago. Its 
habits are exadlly like those of crab-grass. It comes 
up in corn-fields after the corn is laid by. It seeds 
abundantly, and the seed falls off very easily when 



THE MILLETS 



ripe. It therefore reseeds the land, and does not need 
to be sown. Its seed habits are such, in facft, that it 
can hardly be handled as a domesticated grass, for it 
is impracticable to harvest the seed. On account of 
its large yield of most excellent hay it is not generally 
considered a pest. The continuous cultivation of cot- 
ton-fields prevents it from bothering in them. When 
corn-lands have once become seeded to it a good crop 
of hay can be secured late in summer every year after 
the corn is harvested. Not infrequently a field, when 
well seeded to Colorado grass, is left untouched till 
late in May. It is then plowed and harrowed, and the 
grass allowed to grow, making a fine crop of hay. It 
is very leafy, the large, flat leaves resembling those of 
the foxtail millets. Like them, it is hard to cure for 
hay, but when well cured it is said to make hay of 
superior quality. This grass has been tried very gen- 
erally over the South, but has gained little headway 
except where it has spread as a w r eed. By recognizing 
its essentially weedy character, and handling it accord- 
ingly, it may be made a valuable adjunct to the hay- 
producing plants on rich alluvial soils in the extreme 
South. On suitable soils it easily displaces crab- grass, 
but on light, dry soils it cannot cope with this less 
useful and weedy grass. 

FEEDING VALUE OF MILLET HAY 

It is universally agreed that millet hay is highly 
nutritious, and that it is eaten by all classes of stock 
as readily as any other ha}' generall} 7 grown in this 
country; in facft, many feeders state that stock prefer 
it to timothy. For the past half century it has been 



120 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

grown and fed extensively over nearly the entire 
country. As far as chemical composition is concerned 
it has a slight advantage over timothy, as shown by 
the following figures, giving the averages for all pub- 
lished analyses in the United States up to 1890 : * 



DRY MATTER 


Ash 


Protein 


Fibre 


Nitrogen 
Free Extract 


Fat 


Timothy 


5-1 


6.8 


33-5 


51.7 


2.9 


Hungarian grass .... 


6-5 


8.1 


30.0 


53-1 


2.3 



The slight difference in the content of fat is imma- 
terial, and is counterbalanced by the excess of nitrogen 
free extraCt in the Hungarian grass. The latter con- 
tains considerably more protein and less fibre, both of 
which are advantageous. 

The productiveness of millet, its palatability, and 
the nutritious quality of the hay would apparently 
justify the popularity which this crop has had at va- 
rious times since its introduction in America. In the 
year 1885, according to Professor Crozier, the acreage 
of millet exceeded that of timothy in the State of 
Iowa. It has, however, a number of objectionable 
features, on account of which the area cultivated has 
fluctuated a great deal. It is coarse in texture, par- 
ticularly when seeded thinly, and there is more or less 
prejudice against coarse grasses, though this matter is 
of no real significance if the grass is both nutritious 
and palatable. The hair-like bristles in the seed head 



* Bulletin it, Office Experiment Stations, United States Department of 

Agriculture. 



THE MIU.ETS 



121 



are also objectionable. If the hay is cut over-ripe 
these bristles are apt to injure the mouths of stock. 
Cases have also been reported in which the bristles 
have formed hair balls in cows' stomachs, causing in- 
flammation and resulting fatally. 

We have already called attention to the impossibil- 
ity, in aCtual practice, of cutting hay at just the right 
season ; if delay in harvesting results in the develop- 
ment of decidedly objectionable characters in a hay 
plant, such characters are certain to limit the useful- 
ness of the crop, for it will occasionally be necessary 
to cut over-ripe hay. The variation in coarseness, due 
to difference in thickness of the stand, is also a matter 
of some importance. Timothy, even when the stand 
is thin, does not grow much coarser stems than when 
the stand is normal. Millet, on the other hand, grows 
very large, coarse stems when for any reason a poor 
stand is secured. Even when plenty of seed is used 
'the stand may be poor because of unfavorable soil con- 
ditions at seeding-time. This lack of uniformity in 
the character of growth of millet prejudices many 
against it. 

The faCt that millet is an annual may be either an 
advantage or a disadvantage, according to circum- 
stances. It is probably true that millet would occupy 
a much more important place in our agriculture if it 
were perennial. The American farmer likes a grass 
that can be kept in a meadow for several years with no 
attention except to cut it for hay. At the same time, 
a productive, short-season annual is exceedingly use- 
ful for sowing when other crops fail ; it is for this lat- 
ter purpose that millet is most largely used. In some 



122 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

seasons much more of it is needed for this purpose than 
in others, and this accounts, in part, for the fluctua- 
tions in the area of millet grown from year to year. 
Common millet and Hungarian grass at least may be 
sown at the North after it is too late to replant corn or 
other standard forage crops, and yet make a good crop 
of hay in time for a succeeding crop of winter grain. 
The only crop which rivals millet in this respecft is the 
cow-pea, a crop not yet widely know 7 n in the Northern 
States, but which is gradually working its way north- 
ward. Millet possesses a distinct advantage over cow- 
peas for occupying this niche, particularly in the 
Northwest, because of its greater productiveness in 
dry seasons. 

One other faCt connected with the value of millet 
hay remains to be stated. Although it has been fed 
freely to all kinds of stock on thousands of farms for a 
quarter of a century with nothing but favorable re- 
sults, there have always been persistent rumors that it 
may be injurious to horses. In some localities a pecul- 
iar ailment to horses has been called " millet disease," 
from the belief that it is caused by feeding millet hay. 
Like sorghum poisoning, this ailment is most com- 
monly met with along the western border of the humid 
region, but this may be due to the fa6l that millet cul- 
ture is much more general in that sedlion than else- 
where (see Fig. 20). The symptoms of the disease 
are disturbances of the kidneys, causing increase in 
the flow of urine and lameness of the joints. Prof. 
T. D. Hinebauch, of the North Dakota station, in 
Bulletin 26 of that station, reports some interesting re- 
sults in experiments inaugurated to test this point. 



THE MILLETS 



123 



He fed several horses no other hay than millet for sev- 
eral weeks. Most of the horses showed no evil effect, 
but one in particular exhibited all the symptoms of 
' 4 millet disease." Referring to the results of exclu- 
sive millet feeding, he says: M It produces an increased 
action of the kidneys, and causes lameness and swelling 
of the joints. It causes an infusion of blood into the 
joints and destroys the texture of the bone, rendering 
it soft and less tenacious, so that the ligaments and 
muscles are easily torn loose." Professor Ladd, of the 
same station, later isolated a glucoside from millet hay 
extract that produced these characteristic symptoms in 
small mammals to which it was given. 

Some horses are evidently more subject to this dis- 
order than others ; most of them seem to be exempt. 
But that millet is occasionally the cause of such troubles 
is tolerably certain. Horses seem to be the only farm 
animals that ever suffer from this cause. Cases 
exhibiting the above symptoms were not uncommon 
among farm horses in southwest Missouri some twenty- 
five years ago, and millet w 7 as grown there to a con- 
siderable extent at that time. They were not then 
attributed to millet feeding, but it is probable, in the 
light of subsequent investigations, that this was the 
cause. 

In Professor Hinebauch's experiments the symp- 
toms of disease disappeared w 7 hen other hay was sub- 
stituted. It is generally believed that millet can be 
fed to horses w T ith perfect safety if fed alternately with 
other hay. In by far the larger number of cases it 
can be fed without other hay and not produce any un- 
favorable effects. For sheep and cattle there seems to 



124 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

be no question of the value of millet hay. In seasons 
when other hay is scarce it sometimes becomes neces- 
sary to feed horses on millet only. In such cases it is 
well to be on the lookout for millet disease, and 
change the feed of such horses as show the symptoms 
above described. 



IX 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 

BERMUDA GRASS (Cynodon dactylon) 

his grass, known in the Southern States as Ber- 
muda (universally pronounced ''Bermooda"), 
in India as " doob," and in the British West 
Indies as "scutch-grass" (Fig. 24), is dis- 
tributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions 
of both hemispheres. It is the great pasture-grass of 
subtropical and warm temperate regions throughout 
the world. (The localities where Bermuda grass is im- 
portant are indicated in Fig. 25.) 

So far as known, the following incident was the first 
introduction of this grass into the United States. Mr. 
James A. Bethune, of Washington, D. C, states that 
during the war of 181 2 Mr. John G. Winter, a mer- 
chant of Greensboro, Georgia, compelled by the block- 
ade of the Atlantic seaports to bring his merchandise 
in through St. Mary's, on the Georgia-Florida line, on 
one occasion threw into the street in front of his store 
some grass in which a shipment of crocket had been 
packed. The late Gen. James N. Bethune, then a lad 
of nine or ten years of age. living in Greensboro, 
picked up a sprig of the curious-looking grass and car- 
ried it to his mother. Good grasses being much 
needed in that section at that time, the sprig was care- 

125 




TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 1 27 

fully planted in the Bethune garden. From this it 
soon spread to the streets of the village. The embargo 
a<fl is therefore probably responsible for the intro- 
duction of Bermuda grass into this country by making 
it necessary to secure foreign merchandise through the 
West Indies. There is no evidence to show that it 
came from the Bermuda Islands. 

This grass has now spread northward to Maryland 
and westward to the Pacific Coast, and is nearly as 
common throughout the South as blue-grass is in the 
North. It is, in many respeCts, the Southern counter- 
part of blue-grass, and is, beyond question, the best pas- 
ture-grass in the South, and one of the best in the 
world. Like blue-grass, it is also the universal lawn 
grass of the section over which it has spread. It is 
distinctly a Southern grass, and revels in the hottest 
parts of the long Southern summer. Even in the ex- 
treme South it is not a shade-loving plant, but prefers 
*the direct rays of the sun. It is not an uncommon 
thing to see Bermuda grass lawns with spots on the 
shady side of trees and shrubbery in which the ground 
is bare or occupied with more shade-loving plants, such 
as white clover. 

Unlike blue-grass, Bermuda grass looks brown and 
dead during the winter season, and does not begin to 
' 1 green out ' ' till rather late in spring. In the lati- 
tude of Washington City it does not begin to throw 
out green leaves till May. Its color is a light green, 
not nearly so attractive as the richer green of blue- 
grass. For these two reasons it is not an ideal lawn 
grass. Nevertheless, a well-kept Bermuda lawn in the 
Southern States is decidedly beautiful during summer. 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 1 29 



(A plat of Bermuda grass in the grass-garden at Wash- 
ington, D. C, is shown in Fig. 26.) 

There is probably no other grass that bears pastur- 
ing better, or yields more herbage in the form of pas- 
ture, than Bermuda grass in sections where it is at its 
best. Unlike its counterpart in the North, it does not 
become dormant during the summer, but continues 




FIG. 26 — PLAT OF BERMUDA GRASS IN GRASS-GARDEN AT 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

its vigorous growth during the hottest weather. It 
also withstands drouth to a marked degree, but is not 
equal to the exceedingly dry climate of western Texas, 
New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California unless 
irrigated. Yet it remains green during protracted 
summer drouths of central Texas and States to the 
eastward. The quality of its herbage is probably 
not quite equal to that of blue-grass. Stock-raising is 
not yet sufficiently developed in the Bermuda grass 
region to justify a final judgment on this point. The 
best Bermuda pastures easily support two head of cat- 
tle per acre from April till late in October ; not infre- 
quently three head per acre are grazed on it during 



130 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



early summer. On the experiment station farm at 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, thirty head of cattle of all ages 
were kept on seventeen acres of Bermuda pasture, with 
no other feed, from March 25 to November 1 . In addi- 
tion to this, sixteen steers were kept on the same land 
for a few weeks when the growth was most vigorous. 
Professor Killebrew, of Tennessee, states that an acre of 
good Bermuda pasture will keep ten sheep in good con- 
dition for eight months in the year. This, of course, is 
possible only on the best alluvial soils in the warmer 
parts of the South. 

For best results it should be grazed systematically 
— i.e. , the pasture subdivided, and the stock turned into 
one inclosure and allowed to graze it closely, and then 
removed to the next inclosure. They should then be 
returned to the first lot before the grass becomes tough 
and wiry. (Bermuda grass is called wire-grass in many 
parts of the South because of the wiry nature of the 
fully matured stems.) If the stock is turned into a 
single large field, a good deal of the grass becomes so 
wiry by midsummer that the}' will not eat it readily. 

On poor uplands Bermuda grass yields as little as 
blue-grass does in similar situations. In moist cli- 
mates it will grow on nearly pure sand, while it also 
thrives on low moist lands, and is hardly injured by 
prolonged overflow. It is decidedly the best sand- 
binder and bank-holder in the South. It is the best 
of all grasses for covering washed hillsides. It will 
not thrive, however, on waste lands unless they are 
kept free from briers, sedge, and all tall-growing 
plants that would tend to shade it. On good alluvial 
soils it grows large enough to cut for hay, and fur- 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 131 

nishes two or more cuttings, frequently amounting to 
four tons of hay a year. Its hay is of excellent quality, 
fully equal to timothy, though the amount of Bermuda 
hay on the markets is so small that it is not a factor 
in the hay markets of the South except in a few 
localities. 

Like most dense, sod - forming grasses, Bermuda 
grass does best if broken up and harrowed down smooth 
every few years. This is particularly the case when 
hay is wanted. The hay, being light, is easily arid 
quickly cured. In fair weather it may be cut, teddered 

• an hour or two later, raked into windrows, and cocked 
up in one day. The hay should be allowed to dry 
out well before baling or stacking. If it is to be baled, 
it is a good practice in the South, where rain is liable 
to come at any season, to let the cocks stand a day or 
two in the field, then haul them to a shed, where the 
hay may remain a couple of weeks to cure completely 

1 before baling. The hay should always be cut before 
the stems become hard. Some advocate cutting three 
or four times a year, or every time it gets large enough. 

It is not surprising that a grass so tenacious of life 
as Bermuda grass should be regarded in many places 
as a bad weed. In sections where a single crop system 
prevails, as is the case over most of the cotton-growing 
region and in the sugar-cane region of southeastern 
Louisiana, it is a much-dreaded pest. In recent years 
it has spread to the irrigated sections of the Southwest, 
where it has become a serious nuisance. It covers the 
banks of irrigating ditches, and from them invades 
fields of alfalfa and other crops. It is the one grass of 
the South that alfalfa cannot endure. Crab-grass can 



132 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

be dragged out with a harrow ; Johnson grass suc- 
cumbs to the ordinary treatment of alfalfa fields. But 
when Bermuda grass gets a start it cannot be eradi- 
cated without destroying the alfalfa. The land must 
be entirely freed from Bermuda before seeding to 
alfalfa, or failure is certain. These are serious charges 
against this great pasture-grass. Yet, except in 
Florida, southern Arizona, and southern California, 
Bermuda grass seldom produces seed, and it is there- 
fore comparatively easy to keep it out of fields where 
it is not wanted. Where it produces seed abundantly it 
runs riot everywhere and cannot be controlled. In 
the three localities named above it usually produces 
abundant seed, and is there the worst pest known. 
Under no circumstances should it be introduced upon 
a farm in latitudes where it produces seed. 

While Bermuda grass is tenacious of life, it does 
not produce a great abundance of deep underground 
stems, as Johnson grass does. It spreads by long, 
creeping stems, which remain at or near the surface 
of the ground. It can be completely killed at one 
operation by plowing about one and one-half to two 
inches deep with a good, sharp turning-plow during 
dry, hot weather in summer, or just before a cold 
snap in winter. In the one case the stems are killed 
by drying, in the other by freezing. 

It has already been stated that Bermuda grass does 
not stand shading well. It is, therefore, possible to 
smother it out by rank-growing crops. On this point 
Professor Dodson, of the Louisiana Experiment Station, 
says: " By breaking the sod shallow in December, and 
following with a crop that produces dense shade, such 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 1 33 

as cow-peas or velvet beans, Bermuda grass can be ex- 
terminated in a single season." A very good system 
to pursue for this purpose on a stock-farm is to sow 
oats in the fall, harvest them for hay in the spring, 
and then seed thickly to cow-peas or velvet beans. 
South of Tennessee and Arkansas there is plenty of 
time for two crops of cow-peas in summer. This system 
continued for two seasons on land that is properly 
manured usually eradicates the grass completely, and 
gives two or three good crops of hay a year. One 
season of such treatment is frequently sufficient. 
Sorghum and millet are also good summer crops to 
use in getting rid of Bermuda grass. For this purpose 
sorghum should be sown thick — say, two bushels of 
seed to the acre. Bermuda grass, being of low growth, 
is completely shaded out by these taller, dense- growing 
crops. On good land in the South, oats yield two to 
two and a half tons, and sorghum six to ten tons, of 
^excellent hay per acre. Killing Bermuda grass ought, 
therefore, to be a profitable pastime on Southern farms 
where hay is needed. 

From what has been said it is clear that Bermuda 
grass is not seriously to be dreaded on a farm devoted 
to a rational system of crop rotation. Some of the best 
farmers the writer has ever known in the South make 
constant use of Bermuda grass for pasture on the 
rougher portions of the farm, and are never bothered 
with it in the slightest degree 011 the cultivated fields. 
Since it produces no seed, except in the extreme South, 
there is no danger that stock will scatter it in their 
droppings. Where it does not produce seed there is 
little difficulty in controlling it, and there is no ques- 



134 



FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



tion that it is the best and most available pasture-grass 
in the cotton region. 

There is a distinct variety of this grass in Florida, 
known as St. Lucie grass, that possesses many advan- 
tages over Bermuda grass. It grows larger, does not 
produce seed even in Florida, and remains green 
throughout the year. Its trailing stems form a 
dense mat that can be lifted up like a carpet, and 
are strictly above the ground. It is much preferred to 
Bermuda grass in Florida because it yields more herb- 
age and is easily controlled. St. Lucie grass has not 
been given the attention in most parts of the South 
which it seems to merit. It is not known how far 
north it will thrive. It lived through the severe win- 
ter of 1903-04 in the grass-garden of the Department 
of Agriculture in Washington, D.C, and probably has 
nearly as wide a sphere of usefulness as Bermuda grass 
itself. It would probably be less difficult to eradicate 
than Bermuda grass, and would be likely to furnish as 
much or more feed. W. H. Haskel, of Florida, in a 
letter to the Department of Agriculture, speaking of 
the relative merits of these two grasses, says: 

l i St. Lucie grass is so superior to Bermuda grass 
that it seems to me to deserve special mention. Ber- 
muda grass, in the agricultural section of Florida, is 
considered an unmitigated nuisance, because of the 
impossibility of exterminating it. Another disad- 
vantage in it as a lawn grass, even here in a sub- 
tropical region, is that it becomes dormant and brown 
during winter, just when we want a lawn grass to 
look best. It is not nearly so rapid a grower for pas- 
tures as St. Lucie grass. Xow the opposite of all 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 1 35 

these adverse qualities is possessed by the St. Lucie. 
If a change in the field is desired, St. Lucie grass is as 
easily killed out as crab-grass. It grows the year 
around, except when temporarily set back by a freeze. 
Then, if burned off or cut off", in two weeks it comes 
out green as ever.'' It would probably not remain 
green in winter as far north as central Alabama, but 
its other advantages make it worth trying both for 
lawn and as a pasture grass over the whole South. 

The price of Bermuda grass seed runs ordinarily 
from 75 cents to $1.00 per pound, sometimes more. 
The supply comes almost entirely from Australia. It 
is one of the most unreliable seeds on the market, a 
fact probably due to improper methods of handling in 
curing and shipping. Even the best of Bermuda seed 
is very uncertain. Some time ago the writer went over 
all the reports received by the Department of Agricul- 
' ture from farmers to whom this seed had been sent for 
« several years past. Out of a dozen men reporting on 
seed from the same lot three or four would report a 
perfect stand, the others total failures. For this seed 
to germinate, the conditions must be exactly ideal : 
the soil prepared with the greatest care, amply supplied 
with moisture, be thoroughly warm, and the weather 
must be favorable for a considerable period after sow- 
ing. On account of the uncertainty of this method of 
securing a stand of Bermuda grass the seed is seldom 
sown. 

The more usual, and by far the most reliable, way 
is to plant small pieces of sod. The methods of doing 
this are nearly as numerous as there are Bermuda 
grass growers. Usually a piece of sod is plowed as 



136 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

shallow as may be with a turning-plow. It is then 
gathered up, shaken as free from earth as possible, and 
then cut or torn into small pieces. A single piece 
of stem with a joint in it will start a new growth if 
buried shallow in moist soil. For lawns the pieces 
of sod are usually set by hand about a foot apart each 
way in a carefully prepared soil. This is usually done 
in the spring, though it can be done at almost any 
season except when there is danger of freezing weather. 
For pastures much less careful methods will suffice. 
A very good plan is to scatter the pieces of sod in 
standing corn, and cover them at the last cultivation. 
When the soil is wet a barefooted boy, with a sack or 
basket of sod, may drop the pieces of sod and press 
them into the soil with his foot. 

Another good plan is to scatter pieces of sod in 
every alternate furrow as the land is plowed. The 
thicker the}' are placed the sooner a stand is secured ; 
but if dropped every eighteen inches or two feet, and 
covered from two to four inches deep, the grass will 
completely cover the land next season. Another plan 
frequently employed is to plow and harrow the land, 
la}' off furrows as for planting corn by hand, but with 
the furrows only about two feet apart; drop the sods a 
foot or two apart in these furrows, and cover by means 
of a harrow or drag. In regions where it is safe to sow 
oats in spring the sod ma}' be freed from soil and run 
through a feed-cutter. The fragments may then be 
broadcasted along with the oats and harrowed in. The 
grass will make little headway till the oats are cut, but 
will form a good sod by the next spring. 

Many attempts have been made to find some winter- 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 1 37 

growing plant that may be grown with Bermuda grass, 
so as to furnish pasture the year around, but without 
much show of success. Hairy vetch, if carefully han- 
dled, has some value for this purpose, but if eaten too 
close in spring it fails to reseed itself and thus disap- 
pears. On the other hand, if allowed to grow too rank 
in spring, it kills out the grass and makes the pasture 
patchy. Bur clover has been recommended for this 
purpose, but the same objections hold in this case as 
those just stated for hairy vetch. It is also not readily 
eaten by stock. Texas blue-grass has also been tried 
as a winter companion for Bermuda grass, but not on 
a scale sufficient to give positive results. A few farm- 
ers report favorable results with it. By plowing Ber- 
muda sod in autumn it is probable that a crop of fall- 
sown oats could be grown for hay and leave good 
pasture the next summer, though this suggestion rests 
rather on theory than on experience. 

JOHNSON GRASS {SorgJmm halapense) 

In South Carolina this grass (Fig. 27) is generally 
known as Means grass, while it is frequently but er- 
roneously called ' ' Guinea grass ' ' in Alabama and other 
sections of the South. It is unquestionably the worst 
weed in the South. At the same time, it yields two to 
three crops of good hay a year. Those who are not 
acquainted with Johnson grass are often inclined to 
think that a weed that yields such crops of good feed 
is a good one to have on a farm, and this would, in 
faft, be the case if only the one crop were desired. 
There are, however, very few farmers who want to 
grow nothing else. Those whose farms are free from 




FIG. 27 — JOHNSON GRASS 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES ' 1 39 

Johnson grass very wisely refuse to feed the hay, nor 
will they buy horses or other stock from stables where 
it is fed. For these reasons there is not an extensive 
market for the hay. 

As to the feeding value of Johnson grass hay, it 
may be stated that all kinds of stock eat it greedily. 
Horses prefer it to timothy, and it is fully as nutritious 
as the latter. For cattle, idle horses, and horses at 
ordinary work, the only possible objection to the hay 
is the danger of spreading the seed of it in the drop- 
pings. It is not a satisfactory feed for livery-stable 
horses, being too laxative. It might seem that the 
danger of spreading Johnson grass could be averted 
by cutting the hay before the seed is ripe, but such is 
not the case. In the first place, it is not always pos- 
sible to cut hay at the right time, because of unfavor- 
able weather, pressure of other work, etc. Again, the 
seeds of grasses are so inconspicuous that it is not 
always easy for the farmer to tell just when the grass 
must be cut to avoid getting seed in the ha)'. Another 
difficulty arises from the fact that the first crop of the 
season is usually very irregular in coming to maturity, 
and ripe seed is found on some plants before others 
head out. Then, on a Johnson grass infested farm, 
there is always more or less of it scattered along fence- 
rows, ditches, and other waste ground, and the seed 
scatters from these stray patches. In the language of 
an Erath County, Texas, farmer, " Johnson grass 
would be a good thing on a place if you could keep it 
where you want it." 

The farmers of the South generally regard Johnson 
grass as an unmitigated evil, though one finds here 



I40 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

and there a farmer who speaks a good word for it. In 
some States there are laws against the sale of the seed. 
While there is no question as to the value of the grass 
for hay production, it is doubtful whether a farmer is 
justified in introducing Johnson grass even on a stock- 
farm in the South. What position it would hold in 
the agriculture of the South should livestock farming 
become general there it is difficult to say. If it should 
prove to be possible, by selection or crossing, to secure 
a variety with less formidable rootstocks, so that it 
could be killed as easily as blue-grass is in the North, 
it would become the great hay grass of the South. 

The difficult} 7 in eradicating Johnson grass is due 
to the fadt that it produces long, underground stems 
which possess great vitality. It is well-nigh impos- 
sible to free the soil completely from these " roots,' ' as 
they are called. They are not roots at all, but are 
underground stems, having joints, with a rudimentary 
leaf and a bud at each joint. A small piece of root- 
stock having a bud on it will develop a new plant if 
given half a chance. By plowing the land in the fall 
and harrowing out the major portion of the root- 
stocks it is possible to grow an excellent crop of corn 
or cotton the next year practically free from Johnson 
grass; but by another year the pieces of rootstock 
left in the ground by the harrow re-establish the grass 
sufficiently to make it troublesome. The third year it 
is usually as bad as ever. 

The difficulty in dealing with this weed is greatly 
increased by the implements used for tillage on many 
Southern farms. To check the grass effectively a good 
two-horse turning-plow is absolutely necessary , an im- 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 141 



pleinent not found on many small farms. In plowing 
it is necessary to cut and turn over every inch of the 
land. By doing this it is entirely possible to plow a 
Johnson grass meadow in spring, harrow out the root- 
stocks, and make a good cultivated crop the same year; 
but it requires careful work, and a great deal of it, to do 
so. The grass may be entirely eradicated in a single 
season if the farmer can spare the land and afford the 
necessary labor. The best way to do this is to plow 
the land with a turning-plow in the fall, selecting a 
time when the soil is mellow. Harrow out as many 
rootstocks as possible and remove them from the field. 
Then sow some w 7 inter grain, such as oats, barley, or 
rye. Wheat is too late in maturing, The grain should 
be cut for hay in the spring, and the land plowed again 
immediately and thoroughly harrowed, as in the fall 
previous. Then every time the most forward bunches 
of grass reach four to six inches in hight, run over the 
1 land with a heel-scrape or any other implement that 
shaves off the surface of the soil. To be effective this 
shaving process must be so thorough that every sprig of 
grass is cut. If this is kept up till October every ves- 
tige of Johnson grass will be destroyed. It may come 
again from seed the next year, but the seedling plants 
may be killed, like any other weed, by thorough culti- 
vation. Care should be taken not to let any of them 
get large enough to send out rootstocks before destroy- 
ing them. Some badly infested farms have been freed 
from this pest by the above method. 

The usual practice is to take one field at a time for 
this treatment, taking several years to extend the work 
of eradication over the whole farm. With a rational 



142 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

system of crop rotation, and the thorough working of 
the soil common in the north of England and in many 
parts of this country, Johnson grass would not be a pest, 
but a valuable adjunct to the list of farm crops. The 
climate of the entire Johnson grass area permits at 
least two crops a year to be grown on every acre of 
land. A crop of winter grain, hay, and one or two 
summer crops of cow- pea hay or sorghum hay can be 
grown on the worst infested land, with little or no in- 
terference from the grass, if the land is thoroughly 
plowed and harrowed before planting each crop. 

Better than all, however, on land adapted to it, and 
this includes nearly all the w T orst areas, alfalfa can be 
sown on Johnson grass land with perfect success. To 
do this the land should be plowed and the rootstocks 
thoroughly harrowed out early in the fall. If, after 
this, a good beating rain comes to firm the soil, all the 
better. Then sow the alfalfa, at the rate of 20 lbs. of 
seed per acre, early enough in the fall for it to get a 
good start before cold weather. The next summer 
cut it promptly every time it gets high enough to make 
a fair crop of hay. This treatment helps the alfalfa 
and greatly discourages the Johnson grass. As alfalfa 
makes four or five crops of hay a year in the South 
(six to nine in some places), and Johnson grass only 
three, and as Johnson grass gradually declines in yield 
anyw r ay, so that it yields very little three or four years 
after the last plowing, the alfalfa will, in a few years, 
be pradlically free from the grass. What little is left 
actually improves the quality of the alfalfa hay. 

After what has been said above it might seem su- 
perfluous to speak of the proper management of a 



TWO PROMINENT SOUTHERN GRASSES 1 43 

Johnson grass meadow. Yet some farmers have a good 
market for the hay or need it on their own farms. It 
is also the belief of the writer that when the agricul- 
ture of the South is properly diversified, a fact which 
is being accomplished rather rapidly at present, John- 
son grass will not be so much of a pest as it now is, 
and may occupy an important place on stock-farms. 
For these reasons it is well to include here a statement 
concerning its usefulness for hay and pasture. 

Johnson grass is not very satisfactory for perma- 
nent pastures. Although stock eat it readily and 
thrive on it, the yield of feed on Johnson grass pas- 
tures decreases rapidly from year to year until it be- 
comes unprofitable. Many farmers say it can be killed 
out by pasturing in two or three seasons, but there is 
usually enough left to start it again when the land 
is plowed up. When used only for meadow purposes, 
a Johnson grass field can be made permanently pro- 
ductive by proper treatment. Like all grasses that 
throw 7 out abundant rootstocks, it becomes so sod-bound 
in a few years that the yield of hay is greatly lessened. 
To correct this it is necessary to plow the land once 
every two or three years. It may be plowed in either 
fall or spring. Ordinaril}- it is best to plow the 
meadow in early fall and then to harrow it. If this is 
done regularly every two years the meadow remains 
productive as long as the fertility of the land holds 
out. It is to be presumed that it would produce good 
crops indefinitely with proper fertilization. 

Johnson grass seed weighs about 25 lbs. per bushel. 
The usual amount sown is from a bushel to a bushel 
and a half per acre. It may be sown either in spring 



144 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

or early fall. The seed may be drilled, or sown broad- 
cast and covered by harrowing. 

The distribution of Johnson grass is shown in Fig. 
28, each dot on the map representing a correspondent 
who reported it as an important grass in his locality. 
The map shows it to be confined to those portions of 
the country w 7 here the ground seldom or never freezes 
to the depth reached by the plow. It will be noticed 
that a well-defined area of Johnson grass extends across 
the State of Alabama a little south of the centre, turn- 
ing northward into northeastern Mississippi. Maps 
showing the distribution of cotton and also of the negro 
population show .this same area in a similar manner. 
It is due to the peculiar soil of that region. This is a 
broad, fertile strip of black prairie soil, rich in lime 
and other plant-food. An examination of the geolog- 
ical map shows this strip to coincide with the rocks of 
the cretaceous period. With proper drainage, alfalfa 
does well on this soil. The same soil occurs again in 
an enormous area in northern and central Texas, form- 
ing the famous region of black waxy soil of that State. 
Johnson grass is perfectly at home throughout this 
portion of Texas, but it does not, by any means, con- 
fine itself to these cretaceous soils in the South. 

Few grasses will stand greater extremes of moisture 
than Johnson grass. It luxuriates in moist soils and 
along the banks of drainage and irrigating ditches, but 
is at the same time noted for its ability to resist drouth. 
It makes very little growth in exceedingly dry weather, 
but lies dormant, and springs up vigorously as soon as 
rain comes again. 



X 



REDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 



HESE two grasses have nearly the same distri- 
bution in this country. They are both of 
secondary importance, compared with tim- 
othy. While more widely distributed than 
any other grass, they are really important in only a 
few localities, as w 7 ill be seen in the following: 

REDTOP (Agrostis alba) 
{Herd" s-grass of Pennsylvania and the South) 

Of the perennial farm grasses in the northern 
part of this country, timothy ranks first ; Kentucky 
blue-grass is a fair second ; wdiile redtop (Fig. 29) is 
a poor third. In only one or two localities does red- 
top rise to first rank. These are in southeastern Illi- 
nois and adjacent parts of Kentucky, and in the New 
England States. In the first-mentioned region the soil 
is a heavy clay, inclined to be w r et, to which class of 
soils redtop is particularly adapted. Nearly all the 
redtop seed of the country is grown in this locality. It 
rises to considerable importance in New T England, and 
is again more or less prominent in certain sections of 
the arid West, where irrigation is practiced, and along 
the southern edge of the timothy region. Over the 
timothy region, except in New England and the above- 
mentioned localities in Illinois and Kentucky, it is gen- 
erally looked upon with disfavor. The most valuable 

146 




FIG. 29 — REDTOP 



148 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

service it renders in the great hay-producing States of 
the Middle West lies in the fadl that it invades old 
timothy meadows, particularly in the low, moist por- 
tions of the field, and thus causes the farmer to plow 
up these old, unproductive sods. It thus increases the 
average yield of timothy by causing meadows to be laid 
down anew oftener than they otherwise would be. The 
distribution of redtop is shown in Fig. 30. 

While chemical analysis and digestion experiments 
show that redtop is more nutritious than timothy, it has 
little standing either with farmers or on the markets, 
and its presence in hay in any considerable quantity 
lowers the market grade of the hay. It is the chief 
constituent of the ' ' other grasses ' ' referred to in the 
grades of hay established by the National Hay Asso- 
ciation. The basis for the lack of popularity of red- 
top is found in its comparatively small yield on the one 
hand and its lack of palatability on the other. It is 
also a grass that deteriorates rapidly if allowed to stand 
till over-ripe — more rapidly, at least, than timothy. 
It is, therefore, not surprising that where timothy 
thrives, redtop is not generally a favorite. It possesses, 
however, some redeeming features, and is a most use- 
ful grass in its place. 

On land that is too wet for timothy, redtop is de- 
cidedly the best substitute for that grass. It will even 
thrive on land too wet for cultivation. In the mountain 
regions of the West there are many valleys in which 
there are more or less extensive areas of low, level land, 
often too wet for the plow, on which redtop is easily 
started merely by scattering the seed. These mead- 
ows are the reliance of the rancher for winter feed, 



150 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

and redtop is justly accorded a high place in the favor 
of stockmen. Timothy may be started in the same 
way on meadows that are not too wet. There are also 
extensive areas of rich overflowed lands in all the tim- 
othy-growing States on which redtop, mixed with 
alsike clover and fowl-meadow grass (Poa serotina), is 
the best and most available grass. 

In the New England States redtop regularly con- 
stitutes a part of the mixture for meadows and pas- 
tures. In the replies to a circular letter asking for the 
constituents of the usual grass mixtures, redtop was 
mentioned oftener than timothy in Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut, and Rhode Island. In Maine, timothy led in 
the ratio of 33 to 27 ; in New Hampshire the ratio 
was 32 to 22, and in Vermont, 36 to 10. In the replies 
from Alabama and Georgia, redtop was mentioned 
twice as often as timothy, while in Tennessee and 
North Carolina these two grasses divided honors about 
equally. In the great hay-producing States of the 
Middle West, timothy was mentioned from 4 to 20 
times as often as redtop. The popularity of redtop in 
New England is probably due to two causes : First, 
the area of wet meadow-land is proportionately larger 
there than it is in the States farther west and south; 
secondly, the agricultural societies of New England 
have long been established, and have had a marked in- 
fluence on agricultural practice. Through these socie- 
ties the farmers have been more or less imbued with 
the ideas that pervade English agricultural writings. 
In English literature and in the minds of English 
farmers the idea of grass mixtures, of "top" and 
1 ' bottom ' ' grasses, is thoroughly grounded. The Eng- 



REDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 151 

lish farmer is well established in the belief that a grass 
mixture should consist of tall and short and early 
and late grasses, thereby giving a greater yield and 
greater palatability- to the product. This idea has 
probably influenced New England farmers to some ex- 
tent, w r ho grow redtop as a good " bottom" grass — 
i.e., one which fills the lower part of the swath with 
leaves. 

To illustrate how firmly the idea of mixtures is 
grounded in the minds of English agriculturists the 
following instance may be cited. In a recent report 
from the agricultural department of one of the leading 
English colleges the results of experiments w r ith seven 
mixtures, each consisting of from nine to fifteen kinds 
of seed, are reported. One of the mixtures far surpassed 
the others, both in yield and in the quality of the hay, 
and is therefore recommended in the following w r ords : 
( ' From the foregoing it is evident that the seeds sow r n 
> on plat 5 have been by far the most suitable for this 
soil lying on the Valley Gravel.' ' It so happens that 
this plat was the only one on which alfalfa was sown 
in considerable quantity (10 lbs. per acre), and it is 
^ stated that the product was chiefly alfalfa. It is safe 
to say that a farmer from our ow 7 n Western States 
would have stated the conclusion differently. He 
would have said : * ' Alfalfa is undoubtedly the best hay 
crop in this test." But it was the viixture of nine 
grasses that was recommended by the experimenter. 

The popularity of redtop in North Carolina, Ten- 
nessee, and the States to the south (where it is fre- 
quently called " herd's-grass ") is easily understood. 
We are here on the border of the timothy region, or 



152 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

even beyond it. Orchard-grass is popular in this section, 
and for the same reason. Both of these grasses thrive 
much farther south than timothy. Redtop is one of 
the few grasses that remain green the year around in 
the South; in facft, it will stand greater extremes of 
climate, as far as temperature is concerned, than any 
other of our farm grasses, and it is also grown in more 
States than any other. Florida is the only State in 
which it has not been mentioned by correspondents. 
It is of very little value, however, in the central and 
southern portions of such States as Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, and Louisiana. In the hill country of north 
Louisiana, on moist clay, valley soils, redtop is said to 
be the best of all the grasses. This grass occurs in a 
semi- wild state in nearly all parts of the country. 

The map (Fig. 30) shows approximately the dis- 
tribution of redtop as a farm grass. By comparing 
this map with that on page 161, showing the distribu- 
tion of orchard-grass, it will be seen that the distribu- 
tion of these two grasses is remarkably alike. Of the 
two, orchard-grass is really much the best, but red- 
top is more generally grown. It is only outside of 
the limits of the timothy region that redtop becomes 
second to orchard-grass in the preference of farmers. 
Orchard-grass yields a larger amount of, and better, hay 
(if cut right) and more pasture than redtop, and is con- 
sidered more palatable, but it is surpassed by timothy 
in most of these respecfts, and becomes prominent only 
where it does not have to compete with timothy. Red- 
top is preferred for sowing with timothy, because it is 
not so early as orchard-grass and makes a more even sod. 

Redtop is the most variable of all the cultivated 



REDTOP AND ORCHARD- GRASS 



153 



grasses. One form has large, erect stems, with broad, 
coarse leaves. This is the one generally grown for 
hay, and the seed ordinarily sold as redtop consists 
mostly of this type. Another form has slender, creep- 
ing stems, with much finer leaves, and is known as 
4 1 creeping bent. 1 1 Every gradation between these two 
forms may be found. Some botanists regard creeping 
bent as a distinct species, but it is generally considered 
as only a variety of redtop. This creeping form is 
quite commonly used as a lawn grass along the north 
Atlantic seaboard. 

The various forms of redtop are all good pasture- 
grasses, particularly on moist soils. They make a 
good sod, and bear cropping and trampling well. 
Redtop seed is sold both in the chaff and as ' 1 re- 
cleaned " seed. The latter is simply the ordinary seed 
from which most of the chaff has been removed. The 
ordinary seed weighs 10 to 12 lbs. per bushel, the re- 
- cleaned weighs 35 lbs. per bushel. 

The amount of redtop seed used in the usual grass 
mixture of New England varies greatly. Some farm- 
ers sow it very sparingly, using only one or two 
pounds per acre (of recleaned seed); others make it 
the principal ingredient of the mixture, using 12 to 18 
lbs. If ordinary seed is sown, about four times these 
amounts should be used in order to get the same 
amount of seed. The recleaned seed is usually cheap- 
est in the long run. 

In recent years the development of the rice indus- 
try in Louisiana and Texas has seriously interfered 
with the rice-growers of the Atlantic coast region, and 
they are now casting about for grasses and forage 



154 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

plants to grow on their rice-fields. Redtop is a grass 
that is worth trying for this purpose. It may not 
prove to be adapted to the climatic conditions of the 
section in question, but it is adapted to that class of 
soils. 

ORCHARD-GRASS (Dactylis glomerata) 
{Cocksfoot of England and New Zealand) 

Orchard-grass (Fig. 31) illustrates well the fadl 
that after the agricultural authorities have had their 
say, the farmer himself is the court of last resort in all 
matters of farm practice. All over the timothy region 
orchard-grass has been repeatedly urged upon the 
farmer by agricultural writers, but the farmer, for the 
most part, has just as persistently refused to grow it. 
This grass also illustrates another fa<ft — namely, that 
a grass may have many excellent qualities, and yet be 
outclassed by other grasses because of one or two appar- 
ently minor faults. We have seen that blue-grass, in 
spite of its low yield, its failure in midsummer, and 
the difficulty of securing a sod of it, is still the great 
pasture-grass in this country (in the North), because 
of its palatability, its high nutritive quality, its in- 
crease of yield with age, and the pleasing appearance 
of the sward. 

Orchard-grass is the earliest grass to start up in 
spring, remains green during long, hot summers and 
late into the fall; it furnishes abundant feed, and is 
fairly well liked by stock; but it grows in tussocks, 
and therefore does not make an even sod. It must 
also be cut promptly when grown for hay, or its qual- 
ity rapidly deteriorates. The seed is also expensive. 




FIG. 31 — ORCHARD-GRASS 



156 FARM GRASSES OP THE UNITED STATES 

These faults seem to be at the basis of the aversion 
which most farmers in the timothy region have for 
this grass. There is really no good reason why the 
seed should cost more than blue-grass seed, except 
that the supply of it is more limited. It produces 
an abundance of good seed (fifteen to eighteen 
bushels per acre, according to Prof. H. J. Waters, of 
the Missouri Experiment Station), and it is easily 
harvested. If this grass were grown as plentifully as 
timothy the seed would probably be nearly as cheap. 

At present orchard-grass seed is produced in quan- 
tity only in the highlands of western Virginia and 
contiguous regions, and in two counties on the Ohio 
River — one in Indiana, and the other opposite, in 
Kentucky (see Fig. 9). This latter locality produces 
the bulk of the orchard-grass seed grown in this coun- 
try. Small quantities are produced in a few other 
localities. Grass-seed production seems to be quite 
generally confined to certain localities. There is some 
advantage in this. There is a good deal to be learned 
in the business of seed-growing, hence most farmers 
are slow to take it up. When a community gets 
started to growing seed, neighboring farmers learn 
from those who first begin, a good local market is 
established, cleaners are built, and the business finally 
becomes general. It is probable that orchard-grass 
seed could be produced at a profit in many localities 
w T here little or none is now grown. But since the 
demand for it is quite small it would not be difficult 
to overstock the market. 

Perhaps the most serious fault orchard-grass pos- 
sesses is its tendency to become woody soon after the 



RKDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 1 57 



blooming period is over. When cut during or just 
after bloom it makes hay of superior quality, but if 
left a week or ten days later it makes very poor hay, 
This is more or less true of all our farm grasses, but 
it seems to be more pronounced in the case of orchard- 
grass than most others. The author has fed orchard- 
grass hay extensively to horses and cattle with excel- 
lent results, but it must be cut as stated above or stock 
do not eat it readily. It is not always possible to cut 
hay at the proper time ; other farm work may be 
pressing, or unfavorable weather may delay haying. 
It is therefore safer, when practicable, to grow a grass 
like timothy, which does not have to be cut so promptly, 
though even timothy should be cut before the seed is 
ripe to secure hay of the best quality. Another reason 
why farmers do not like to grow much orchard-grass 
is that timothy is the standard hay in all city markets, 
and even better hay than timothy will usually sell at a 
* lower price because horsemen know what timothy hay 
is and are not familiar with orchard-grass hay. How 
the two would stand in the favor of feeders if both 
were equally known has never been determined. Ex- 
perimenters have very generally recommended orchard- 
grass very highly. The fadt that, in acftual farm 
practice, orchard-grass hay would be cut at all stages 
from blooming to maturity of the seed, would un- 
doubtedly make the quality of the hay very irregular, 
and thus render it unpopular. 

The uneven character of orchard-grass sod, as seen 
in Fig. 32, also tends to render it unpopular with 
farmers. It is no small task to ride a mower over an 
orchard-grass meadow. The small tussocks which 



158 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

from the sod give the mower a motion similar to that 
of a wagon driven over a rocky road. This defect of 
orchard-grass sod can be partially overcome by sowing 
clover and meadow-fescue with it ; but the latter grass 



FIG. 32 — SOD OF ORCHARD-GRASS 

is little growm in this country, for reasons that will be 
mentioned later. 

One of the most important advantages orchard- 
grass possesses is that it ripens exactly with red clover, 
and is thus eminently adapted to sowing with that im- 
portant leguminous plant. It is a w T eek to ten days 
earlier than timothy; indeed, it is one of the earliest 
of our grasses to furnish green feed in spring, and is 
therefore a valuable constituent of pasture mixtures. It 



REDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 



159 



is somewhat amusing to read the severe condemnations 
of orchard-grass — and timothy, too, for that matter — in 
English books on grasses of the early part of the last 
century, on account of its coarseness. This idea crops 
out, to some extent, in American literature; but there is 
nothing to support it. If stock relish a grass and it 
is nutritious, then the coarser the better — if coarseness 
adds to the amount of forage it yields. Corn is rather 
a coarse grass, yet it is the most valuable of all grasses. 
Sorghum is another coarse grass that makes hay, and 
particularly green feed, of excellent quality. 

Another advantage orchard-grass possesses is its 
greater length of life. If properly treated an orchard- 
grass meadow continues to make good yields for many 
years, but, like most other perennial grasses, it pro- 
duces more the first cropping season than ever after- 
ward, except under unusual weather conditions, and 
it is doubtful if a farmer would be justified in keep- 
ing an orchard-grass meadow down more than two 
or three years. It also possesses marked advantages 
as a pasture-grass if grazed systematically. It bears 
cropping and trampling better than timothy, but does 
not continue to improve in old pasture-lands, as blue- 
grass does. It is w r orthy of a place in grass mixtures 
wherever it will thrive. It is stated by many writers 
that sheep are especially fond of it. 

The author can state from experience that horses 
and cattle eat it readily in pastures, but if mixed with 
other grasses and clover, and poorly managed, orchard - 
grass is inclined to outgrow the other constituents of 
the mixture, and when clumps of it attain considerable 
hight, stock negledl it for more tender herbage. If 



l60 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

the pasture is allowed to rest until there is considerable 
growth upon it, and then sufficient stock is turned in 
to eat it down quickly, orchard-grass is eaten with the 
rest. It has already been pointed out that this is the 
best method of getting the most feed from pastures, 
though it is not always practicable to follow it. Or- 
chard-grass revives quickly after being cut for hay or 
cropped by stock, especially if there is plenty of mois- 
ture in the soil. In favorable seasons it yields two 
cuttings of hay a year — another characteristic which 
adapts it to sowing with red clover. 

The distribution of orchard-grass in this country is 
approximately shown in Fig. 33. This map was pre- 
pared in the same manner as that showing the distri- 
bution of blue-grass (Fig. 19). Each dot represents 
a correspondent who reported it as an important grass 
in his locality. An examination of the map shows 
that it is found most commonly around the southern 
border of the timothy region; in fadl, it is decidedly the 
best of the farm grasses in that portion of the country, 
and is deservedly popular there. It is most important 
as a hay grass in Virginia, northern and western North 
Carolina, northern Georgia, northern Alabama, in Ten- 
nessee, and in those portions of Kentucky in which tim- 
othy does not thrive. In the regions here outlined 
timothy does well only on the best alluvial soils, and is 
liable to be entirely killed by the summer heat. Or- 
chard-grass is here adapted to a large variety of soils, 
and yields abundant crops of hay and pasture. It is 
better understood here than farther north. 

Orchard-grass is also grown considerably in Mis- 
souri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Wash- 



1 62 FAKM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

ington, and northwestern California. Along the 
Pacific Coast west of the Cascade Mountains orchard- 
grass thrives remarkably well, and this is one section 
in which it vies with timothy in a timothy region. 
The worst disadvantage which it possesses in this sec- 
tion is its earliness. In all the region west of the 
Rocky Mountains the rains fall mostly in winter, 
while the summers are dry. West of the Cascades in 
Oregon, and more particularly in Washington, orchard- 
grass is frequently ready to cut before the spring rains 
are over, and it is therefore not always possible to cure 
the hay. Timoth) T comes on about ten da} r s later, and 
thus stands a better chance of finding favorable haying 
weather. This objection does not hold east of the 
Cascades and in the Rocky Mountain region. In the 
Mountain States orchard-grass is much prized as a 
companion to alfalfa. It matures with the first cut- 
ting of alfalfa, and improves the quality of the hay. 
It is also a valuable grass to mix with alfalfa for pas- 
tures, greatly reducing the risk from bloat, and it has 
no tendency to spread and choke out the alfalfa. 

Orchard-grass occurs sparingly throughout the 
timothy region, but is nowhere an important grass in 
that area, except in a few small sections previously 
mentioned. It is used considerably in New England 
and adjoining States as a constituent of meadow and 
pasture mixtures, and probably deserves to be much 
more generally used for pasture purposes all over the 
Northern States. 

Orchard-grass seed, as found on the markets, is 
usually of good qualit}^ It weighs about 14 lbs. per 
bushel. When grown for seed, it yields ordinarily 15 



REDTOP AND ORCHARD-GRASS 



163 



to 18 bushels per acre. The retail price of the seed 
varies from 15 to 25 cents per pound. When sown 
alone, 20 to 25 lbs. of good seed per acre is sufficient. 
In pasture mixtures, 3 to 6 lbs. are usually sown. 

This grass is highly prized in New Zealand, where 
it is known as " cocksfoot," as it is also in England. 
This name is derived from the fancied resemblance of 
the spreading seed head to a chicken's foot. 



XI 



iflii 



BROME-GRASS (Bromus inermis) 

|rome-grass (Fig. 34) is one of the few recently 
introduced grasses that have won a perma- 
nent place in American agriculture. Its in- 
troduction is to be credited to the work of the 
State experiment stations and the National Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. It has been grown by them ex- 
perimentally for a good many years, but began to 
attract general attention in the early nineties. It was 
at first heralded by enthusiastic seedsmen as a panacea 
for all the ills of the farmer. Without question it is 
the best pasture-grass yet found for the Prairie States 
of the Nortrrwest and Pacific Northwest. On the great 
wdieat-producing soils of the sections mentioned it is 
a pasture-grass unequaled in productiveness by any 
other pasture-grass in the country (unless we except 
the Bermuda grass of the South), and surpassed only 
by blue-grass in the quality of its herbage. It is now 
firmly intrenched in the favor of farmers from Kansas 
to the Canadian line and west to the Cascade Moun- 
tains of Oregon and Washington. It is also a valuable 
grass for moderately dry uplands in parts of California. 
It is distinctly a Northern grass, having never suc- 
ceeded south of the latitude of St. Louis, except at 
high elevations in the Mountain States. It is perfectly 
hardy, even in Manitoba. In the dry summers of the 
Northern Pacific Coast region (east of the Cascade 
164 



FIG. 34 — BROME-GRASS 



1 66 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Mountains) it furnishes more green feed than any 
other of the true grasses. Noted for its ability to with- 
stand drouth, it yet does well on good moist soils. It 
will not thrive, however, on soils that are distinctly 
wet. It is particularly at home in the Red River Val- 
ley of North Dakota and on the peculiar basaltic soils 
of eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and northern 
Idaho. Its distribution is shown in Fig. 35, each dot 
representing a locality from which correspondents re- 
port it important. It is generally supposed that brome- 
grass is not adapted to the more humid climate of the 
timothy region, but the fact is it is nearly or quite as 
valuable over much of this region as it is farther west. 
In the West it had no competitors as a pasture-grass, 
while in the East it had to compete with several long- 
established and highly satisfactory grasses, particularly 
timothy and blue-grass. It has already been stated 
that nearly all the grass literature issued by the State 
experiment stations comes from those stations outside 
of the region of timothy, blue-grass, and red clover. 
Having very satisfactory meadow and pasture crops, 
the farmers of the timothy region have not given 
brome-grass a thorough trial. As an illustration of 
the attitude of these farmers toward new candidates for 
their favor, we may quote the remark of an Ohio farmer 
when asked, in a circular letter, what were the hay 
and pasture problems of his section. " We have no 
problems of this kind," was his reply. "What we 
need is to know how to build barns more cheaply and 
how to handle our livestock better. Our meadow T s and 
pastures already produce as much feed of the best 
quality as land can be made to produce." This may 



1 68 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

or may not be true, but it shows that grass problems 
are not pressing in that sedtion. Yet it is probably 
true that brome-grass w*ould add much to the produc- 
tiveness of pastures, even in Ohio. J. E. Wing, the 
well-known agricultural writer and ledlurer, whose 
farm is in west central Ohio, says that a mixture of 
brome-grass and alfalfa will carry six times as much 
stock there as blue-grass, and do it better. Yet both 
of these crops are, or were until very recently, nearly 
unknown in that State. Alfalfa is now rapidly gain- 
ing favor throughout the timothy region, and it is 
probable that brome-grass will, in time, do the same 
over much of this region. 

It has been stated on a previous page that palata- 
bility is perhaps the most important single character- 
istic of a grass. If stock like it sufficiently well to eat 
enough to fatten on, it deserves attention. It is not 
claimed that brome-grass is as palatable as blue-grass, 
but the former is eaten readily by all classes of stock, 
and its superior productiveness would render it more 
profitable than blue-grass in all sections except those 
w T here blue-grass is at its best, such as the Blue- 
Grass Region of Kentucky, north Missouri, and south- 
western Iowa. Since brome-grass is more a pasture than 
a hay grass, and as the farmers of the eastern part 
of the timothy region are gradually abandoning the 
use of pastures in favor of more productive methods of 
raising feed r it is doubtful if brome-grass has an im- 
portant place to fill in that section. But farther west, 
where beef production renders pastures necessary, it 
would undoubtedly add to the profit of the farmer. 

Brome-grass was at first heralded as a great hay- 



BROMK-GRASS 



169 



producing grass, but it has been a disappointment to 
many farmers in this respedt. The disappointment 
was due to too great expectations . It does produce a 
fine crop of hay, apparently the equal of timothy, for 
one or two years, but by the third year, except on very 
rich, moist land, it becomes so sod-bound that it sends 
up very few seed-stalks, though it continues indefinitely 
to produce an abundance of short, leafy growth, excel- 
lent for pasture. A few instances are reported in 
which farmers have plowed the sod in the fall and 
harrowed it down smooth, thereby renewing it to full 
vigor as a hay producer. Experience in this line is 
yet too meagre to justify the assertion that this prac- 
tice w 7 ould be generally successful. It is certainly 
worth trying. 

Brome-grass hay is not yet sufficiently known on 
the markets to enable us to pass final judgment upon 
it. Experiments have demonstrated that it is as nu- 
tritious as timothy, and abundant experience shows it 
to be relished by stock. But the same is true of sev- 
eral other kinds of hay that have little standing on the 
markets. It requires long experience of many feeders 
to settle the status of any kind of hay. The men who 
feed livery horses in the cities are the jury that passes 
final judgment in matters of this kind, and their dic- 
tum furnishes the market rating of all classes of hay. 
When we have learned more about how to grow 7 brome- 
hay, and its true value has been determined by the 
feeder, it may become a standard, particularly in the 
markets of the Northwest. Like timothy, it possesses 
the advantage of producing good seed in abundance. 
The seed is easily harvested, and may be threshed on 



170 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

an ordinary grain-thresher with proper riddles and 
proper control of the draft. The straw, after the seed 
is threshed out, is readily eaten by stock. This grass 
produces rather abundant aftermath, which furnishes 
excellent grazing. On the approach of winter it turns 
brown, but does not lose its palatability, and it fur- 
nishes good pasture, even under light snow. 

Brome-grass is usually sown in spring, at the rate 
of 20 lbs. of good, clean seed per acre. The seed does 
not feed well through ordinary drills, and it is best to 
sow it by hand. Like most permanent grasses in the 
North, it makes very little growth the first year from 
spring sowing, though it makes good pasture from 
midsummer on. The next year it makes a fine crop 
of hay. On the best soils it makes a good crop still 
another season, but then begins to get sod-bound, after 
which its best use is for pasture, unless it is plowed up 
and harrowed in fall, as previously suggested. West 
of the Rockies it is best to plow the land for brome- 
grass in early spring, shortly before sowing. East of 
the Rockies fall plowing is advisable. In the sections 
where brome-grass is now well established it is not 
wise to sow it with a nurse crop. Farther east, where 
there is more summer rain, it could be sown advan- 
tageously with any kind of spring grain. East of the 
Dakotas it could be sow r n in late summer with excel- 
lent results. Sown thus, it ought to make a full crop 
the next year. 

Until recently most of the brome-seed sold by deal- 
ers was imported from Central Europe, where this 
grass has been a standard for more than half a century 
(Southern Russia and Northern Austria). On account 



BROME-GRASS 



171 



of the absence of laws in this country to protect farmers 
against worthless seeds, the quality of imported brome- 
seed has been generally very poor. In growing this 
seed it is extremely important to allow it to ripen thor- 
oughly. This can be done, as the grass holds its seed 
well. It is best to let it stand till it begins to shatter 
a little, unless the grower is expert enough to tell by 
other signs wdien it is ready to cut. If cut too early 
the seed is so light that it cannot be cleaned properly 
and will not germinate readily. Brome-seed of the 
highest quality is grown in eastern Washington and 
northern Idaho, where this seed is a standard on the 
markets. Good seed is also produced in the Dakotas 
and neighboring States. 

In sod-forming character brome-grass is much like 
blue-grass, but is much coarser, and not so pleasing in 
color. The one character wdiich first gained recogni- 
tion for it in this country is its ability to grow under 
* adverse climatic conditions. It is not a desert grass 
by any means, but, in cold climates, it will grow on as 
dry land as any of the tame grasses. It has about the 
same ability to grow on dry land as alfalfa, but, unlike 
the latter, it does not thrive in warm climates. 

Brome-grass has had several names applied to it by 
seed dealers and agricultural w T riters, such as " awn- 
less brome, ' ' ' ' Hungarian brome, " ' ' Russian brome,' ' 
"Russian forage grass," "beardless brome," etc., 
but the farmers who grow it use the simple name 
"brome-grass." It is frequently confused with the 
so-called broom-sedge grasses of the South and West 
— grasses very different from it in all essential char- 
acters. 



FIG. 36 — CHESS, OR CHEAT 



BROME-GRASS 



173 



There are several native species of the genus 
Bromus which are more or less promising under culti- 
vation, especially on dry lands west of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Two of these are worthy of attention — namely, 
Bromus marginatus and Bromus carinatus. Both of 
these wild species are very variable, and some forms of 
them are undoubtedly valuable. Their possibilities 
are being exploited by the experiment stations in the 
West. As yet they have no satisfactory common 
names. One farmer in a dry section of southwestern 
Oregon grows Bromus marginatus under the name of 
' ' eight-dollar grass/' having secured his start of it 
from the side of a mountain bearing that name. It is 
hoped that suitable local names for them may become 
well enough established to warrant their general use. 

Another representative of this genus is the well- 
known cheat or chess {Bromus secalinus), Fig. 36, of 
the grain-fields. In the Willamette Valley, Oregon, 
and in the Blue Mountains of the same State, cheat is 
grown for hay to a considerable extent. It is an 
annual, adapted to sowing in the fall. It yields quite 
well, but the hay is not of high quality. 

The rescue-grass {Bromus unioloides), Fig. 37, of 
the South is another representative. This is also an 
annual. In south central Texas this grass grows wild 
quite generally. It is occasionally sown for winter 
pastures throughout the South, for which purpose it 
has some value, but it possesses few, if any, advantages 
as a winter pasture in that section over the common 
cereals. It would probably thrive a little farther 
south than the cereals. In Georgia and adjacent 
States rescue-grass is frequently sold under the name 



FIG. 37 — RESCUE-GRASS 



BROME-GRASS 



175 



1 1 Arctic grass. ' ' This name was given by a seedsman, 
with a view to inducing farmers to grow it more gener- 
ally. A few Southern seedsmen sell cheat-seed for 
rescue, some using the latter name and some the name 
' ' Arctic grass. ' ' There is considerable advantage to the 
seedsman from this practice, for he can get cheat-seed 
very cheap at the large grain elevators of the Central 
West. Men who practice this deception console them- 
selves with the idea -that, after all, cheat is about as 
good a grass as rescue. They are wrong in this. In 
addition to making hay inferior to rescue hay, it makes 
less abundant winter pasture, and in some places is a 
bad weed in grain-fields. 



XII 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 

ome of the grasses discussed in this chapter are 
the most important grasses of Europe. It is 
somewhat difficult to account for the lack of 



appreciation they find among our farmers. 

MEADOW-FESCUE AND TALL FESCUE 

(Festtica pratensis and var. elatior) 

Meadow-fescue is frequently called 1 1 English blue- 
grass " — an unfortunate name, since it leads to confu- 
sion; it is not a near relative of our blue-grass. And 
another very different grass (Poa compressd) is called 
' * Canadian blue-grass, ' ' and sometimes i 1 English blue- 
grass." Meadow-fescue is one of the most important 
grasses of England and the Continent of Europe, being 
rivaled there only by the rye-grasses. It has been re- 
peatedly urged upon the American farmer, but he has 
persistently refused to grow it. Some of the reasons for 
this are as follows : In most of the region adapted to it 
in this country it does not yield so w T ell as timothy. Its 
seed is costly, and it requires more to seed an acre than 
it does of timothy. In addition to this, meadow- 
fescue seed is not nearly so reliable as that of timothy, 
and is more adulterated, for there are many other seeds 

176 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 1 77 



closely resembling it. Much of the fescue-seed sold in 
America is imported, and in consequence of our lack 
of laws on the subject, as stated before, it is frequently 
the refuse of the European trade. Add to this the 
well-established position of timothy hay as the stand- 
ard on our own markets, and we have an indidlment 
that would convicft any grass. The difficulty of secur- 
ing good seed cheaply, the uncertainty of securing a 
stand even with good seed, and the relatively low 
yield as compared with timothy, probably account for 
the lack of recognition of meadow-fescue in this coun- 
try. Nevertheless, stock show a decided preference 
for this grass. In experiments with cattle turned into 
a grass-garden where several hundred grasses and 
legumes were growing, meadow- fescue and tall fescue 
were always eaten in preference to all others except the 
rye-grasses. 

Meadow-fescue is occasionally met with in New 
» England, New York, Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, 
and very sparingly elsewhere in the timothy region. 
In eastern Kansas it rises to considerable importance, 
and a great deal of seed of it is grown there and in ad- 
jacent counties in Missouri. Like most all the less- 
known grasses, when it occurs at all in this country it 
is near the outer margin of the timothy region. 

In Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho 
meadow and tail fescue are regarded with considerable 
favor. On the basaltic wheat-producing soils of east- 
ern Washington and northern Idaho tall fescue, when 
a good stand of it is secured, is undoubtedly one of 
the best grasses, both for hay and for pasture. If 
the difficulty in securing a good catch could be mas- 



178 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

tered, it would probably become a standard in that 
section. 

Tall fescue differs very little from meadow-fescue, 
except in being more^rcjbust in habit. It grows four 
to six inches taller, and it appears to be somewhat 
more difficult to get started. This may be due to 
poorer quality of the seed ordinarily secured from deal- 
ers. Tall fescue seed is very seldom called for, and is 
about three times as high-priced as meadow-fescue 
seed. It also weighs only about 14 lbs. per bushel, 
while meadow-fescue seed weighs 22 lbs. The differ- 
ence is due mainly to a greater amount of chaff left 
in tall fescue seed, thus masking, to some extent, its 
higher price. 

American farmers have not had experience enough 
with these two grasses to determine the proper amount 
of seed to sow per acre. Both grasses are perennials, 
and outlast timothy, both in meadows and in pas- 
tures. 

While it has not been demonstrated, it is probable 
that mixtures of such grasses as the fescues, rye- 
grasses, orchard-grass, timothy, redtop, and red, 
w T hite, and alsike clovers, would make pastures far 
surpassing blue-grass on all soils in the timothy region, 
except in a few areas already referred to as special 
blue-grass regions. Mixtures such as the above are 
generally used for pastures as well as meadows across 
the Atlantic, and European farmers find pastures 
profitable, even on high-priced land. Perhaps Amer- 
ican farmers would not be abandoning pastures as 
they are if they did not rely so entirely on blue-grass 
and white clover. 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 1 79 



THE RYE-GRASSES : ENGLISH RYE-GRASS {Lolium 
perenne) — ITALIAN RYE-GRASS {Lolium italicum) 

These grasses are even less popular in this country 
than the fescues; in fadt, they are practically un- 
known here, except on the Pacific Coast west of the 
Cascade Mountains, and in a few places in the South. 
Yet they are the most important grasses of Europe. 
It is not at all easy to account for their lack of popu- 
larity on this side of the Atlantic. Stock certainly 
prefer them to all other cultivated grasses; their seed 
is fairly reliable, though their scarcity in the markets 
renders them high-priced, and they yield well on soil 
suited to them. Although they do not yield so well 
as timothy, it would seem that the superiority of the 
herbage they produce ought to give them a place 
among American farm grasses. There is, of course, 
the same difficulty with their seed that is met with in 
the case of most imported grass-seed : we get only 
inferior quality, as a rule. The fadl that more seed per 
acre is necessary than is the case with timothy, and that 
it is more costly, added to the somewhat poor quality 
of seed found in our markets, probably accounts, to 
some extent at least, for their lack of standing. It 
may be, too, that they are not adapted to our climatic 
conditions, for it is frequently the case that crops that 
flourish in Western Europe are adapted only to our 
Pacific Coast States. Certain it is that the rye-grasses 
have gained no foothold to speak of in this country, 
except on the Pacific Coast. 

On irrigated plains in northern Italy, and on sandy 
lands in the vicinity of Edinburgh, Scotland, irrigated 
by sewage from the city, Italian rye-grass yields enor- 



l8o FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

mous quantities of forage. In the latter locality, ac- 
cording to Storer, it is cut four or five times in a 
season. Italian rye-grass is practically an annual, but 
by letting it ripen seed before cutting the hay, which 
it is perfectly safe to do as far as quality of the hay is 
concerned, it reseeds itself, and is thus to all purposes 
a perennial. The old plants do not actually die at the 
end of the first year, but they do not amount to any- 
thing after the first crop year. English rye-grass is 
little better in this respect, though it is called a peren- 
nial. The European farmer thoroughly understands 
these grasses, and under his care they are the best of 
all the tame grasses. The American farmer has never 
been noted for bestowing especial attention to his 
grass-fields. He prefers a grass like timothy, that does 
not need careful attention, though he loses much from 
the usual manner in which he handles his timothy 
meadows. 

West of the Cascade Mountains, in Oregon and 
Washington, and in the corresponding portion of 
northern California, Italian rye-grass has gained con- 
siderable popularity. It does particularly well on 
moist lands reclaimed by dyking. It is not generally 
met with in that section, but a few farmers prize it 
highly. It grows well on irrigated lands in central 
Washington, and on the upland wheat soils of that 
State and northern Idaho, near the mountains where 
the rainfall is ample, but in the latter region it does 
not grow a strong straw and is liable to lodge badly in 
unfavorable weather. 

English rye-grass is interesting from a histor- 
ical point of view, as it was the first of the true grasses 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 



181 



to be grown under domestication for hay and pasture 
purposes. To the early English farmer all grasses 
were alike. No attempt was made to separate them 
and secure pure seed of the various kinds. When the 
attempt was made, this was the first grass of which 
pure seed was placed on the market, and the conserva- 
tive English farmer has stuck to it now for nearly 
three centuries. It was introduced from England into 
Germany and France. In the language of both these 
countries, in order to preserve the English pronuncia- 
tion, the word ' ' rye ' ' was spelled r-a-i. It seems that 
some later English writers imported this word back 
into English, changing the i to y } thus producing the 
term ( ■ ray ' ' grass, sometimes used for the rye-grasses. 
The name ' ' rye-grass ' ' is somewhat unfortunate, since 
it leads to confusion. The rye-grasses are not at all like 
the common cereal bearing that name. Neither are 
they like the so-called wild rye-grasses of our Western 
States. But this is not a matter of much importance, 
because of the small part these two grasses seem des- 
tined to play in American agriculture. 

Italian rye-grass is sometimes used to secure a 
quick growth on lawns where blue-grass is not easily 
grown. This is particularly the case around Wash- 
ington, D. C. It is very useful for this purpose. As 
stated elsewhere, it is probable that the rye-grasses 
would prove useful in pasture mixtures in much 
of the region in which blue-grass is now the standard 
grass. 

The seed of the rye-grasses weighs about 20 lbs. 
per bushel. Seedsmen recommend two to three bush- 
els of seed per acre when sown alone. In mixtures 



1 82 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

the amount of seed should be reduced approximately 
in proportion to the number of grasses in the mix- 
ture. 

TALE MEADOW OAT-GRASS (Arrhenatherum avenaceum) 

This is a grass of comparatively small importance 
in the United States. It has two serious faults, each 
of which greatly reduces its value. In the first place, 
it is not very well liked by stock, though it is possible 
to get them to eat it readily after they become accus- 
tomed to its peculiar flavor; secondly, it has decidedly 
poor seed habits. Within twenty-four hours after the 
seed starts to ripen it begins to fall. In the case of 
a small field of this grass, which the writer grew for 
seven years at the Washington State Experiment 
Station, one season it was noticed on Saturday evening 
that the seed in the top of the panicles was beginning 
to turn brown. It had been closely watched with a 
view to saving the seed. On Monday morning the 
grass was cut with an ordinary grain-binder, yet fully, 
half the seed was lost, partly by falling out before cut- 
ting, and partly from shattering in the subsequent 
handling. Even if it had no other fault, this one 
would render it impracticable for general cultivation. 
The writer has met only one farmer who was enthusi- 
astic over the merits of tall meadow oat-grass. This 
was in eastern Tennessee, on the edge of the timothy 
region. In the timothy region proper it is almost 
unknown. It occurs sparingly all over the country, 
but is nowhere of great importance, and is adapted to 
a considerable variety of soils. The only reasons for 
its occurrence in America at all are that it will thrive 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 1 83 

in warmer climates and on drier soils than timothy, 
it is fairly easy to secure a stand, and continues pro- 
ductive for many years. Like orchard-grass, it does 
not become sod-bound, unless the seed is allowed 
to ripen and fall, stands pasturing well, and remains 
green till late in winter. Tall meadow oat-grass 
matures exactly with orchard-grass and red clover, and 
is therefore adapted to sowing with these crops. 

VELVET-GRASS {Ho lens lanatus) 

The only part of the United States in which velvet- 
grass occurs to an extent worthy of notice is on the 
Pacific Coast west of the Cascade Mountains, from 
northern California to the Canadian line. In that sec- 
tion it is indifferently called ' 1 velvet-grass ' ' and " mes- 
quite." The latter name should never be applied to 
this grass, as it is used for several other very different 
grasses in the Southwest. In England it is known by 
several names, the commonest being " velvet- grass," 
<( meadow soft grass," and 14 Yorkshire fog. " The 
word ' ' fog ' ' in this connection is an old English word 
meaning the winter growth on meadows. It is applied 
to this grass from its habit of producing considerable 
green herbage in winter. It is generally regarded as a 
pest on the Pacific Coast, particularly on lands that are 
very wet in winter and very dry in summer. This is 
especially the case w T ith both sandy and peaty soils on 
the Coast. It is not utilized for feed in many localities, 
but on the extensive areas of very sandy land around 
the mouth of the Columbia River, and at one or two 
points inland, it is the chief reliance, both for hay and 
for pasture. It yields ordinarily about half a ton of 



FIG. 3S — CRAB-GRASS 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 1 85 



hay per acre. The hay is remarkable for its lightness, 
a ton of it being much more bulky than a like weight 
of other kinds of hay. Horses and cattle nearly starve 
before they acquire a taste for velvet- grass, but when 
the taste is once acquired they thrive upon it remark- 
ably well, showing that it is highly nutritious. The 
whole plant is covered by a growth of wool-like hairs, 
from which fact the name is derived. It is unworthy 
of attention except on the classes of soils above men- 
tioned. On these soils it drives out all other grasses. 



Crab-grass {Panicum sanguinale^) . — This grass 
(Fig. 38.) is of considerable importance in the South. 
Its distribution is shown in Fig. 39. It is not a culti- 
vated grass in the ordinary sense, as its seed is never 
sown. It comes up as a weed in corn-fields after the 
last cultivation, and furnishes no inconsiderable amount 
of pasture. A considerable proportion of the hay pro- 
duced in the South is made from this volunteer growth 
of crab-grass. The yield is light, seldom exceeding a 
ton per acre, and the hay is of only moderate quality. 
It has a very good standing with Southern farmers, 
but is not often seen on the markets. It isinostly fed 



Carpet-grass {Panicum compressuni) . — Tnis is 
an important pasture-grass in eastern Texas, Louisiana, 
southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and parts of 
Florida. It sends out long, creeping stems which root 
at the joints, and form a very dense, even carpet of 
sod, whence its name. Stock are very fond of it, and 
it is highly prized where it grows. On sandy lands 



MISCELLANEOUS grasses 



on the farms where it is grown. 




GRASSES OF MIXOR IMPORTANCE 



I8 7 



that are heavily pastured earpet-grass will run out 
Bermuda grass. It produces very little seed, which is 
difficult to gather. An occasional method of seeding 
land to carpet-grass is to mow it at a time when ripe 
seed is most abundant, and scatter the dry hay on the 
land to be seeded. This grass does not thrive very 
far from the Gulf Coast. It seems to prefer uplands, 
and thrives on either sandy or clay soils. It is a 
splendid pasture-grass, but does not compare with 
Bermuda grass in the amount of forage produced. The 
distribution of carpet-grass is shown in Fig. 40. 

Slender Wheat-grass {Agropyron teneruwi). 
— Of the many valuable wild grasses of our Western 
plains and mountain regions, slender wheat-grass is 
one of the few that are promising on cultivated land. 
It does well on land entirely too dry for timothy, and 
stands the most rigorous winters. Whether it possesses 
any advantages over brome-grass for cold, dry climates 
is not fully determined. It does not become sod-bound 
like the latter, and may therefore prove to be better 
for meadows. As the seed is now available on the 
markets it is probable that the possibilities of slender 
wheat-grass will be determined in the near future. It 
is worth trial. 

Agropyron diver gens, the great "bunch-grass" of 
eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and northern 
Idaho, and a near relative of slender wheat-grass, is 
also a promising grass for the driest cultivated lands 
in the region where it is native. It yields a fair crop 
of very good hay on drier lands than any of the culti- 
vated grasses. Its seed is sometimes offered by Western 
seedsmen, but it is somewhat unreliable. 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 1 89 

Agropyron occidental , the well known (i bluestem" 
of Montana and Colorado, is the most valuable of 
all the Agropyro?is. It has been heralded as a great 
dry land grass. It is adapted to a great variety of 
conditions, but is most useful on irrigated meadows 
in the vicinity of Harlem, Montana, where it is exten- 
sively cut for hay. In Colorado it constitutes an im- 
portant part of the upland hay. In the Dakotas, 
prairie sod, when plowed up and left to itself, is soon 
covered by a growth of bluestem. In yield, on well- 
irrigated land, it equals timothy. Where its hay is 
well known it usually sells at a slight advance over 
timothy. Horses are especially fond of it, and it is 
very nutritious. This grass is somewhat weedy in 
character, having strong underground stems, and is 
difficult to eradicate when once established. Yet it is 
not bothersome in grain-fields. In order to keep blue- 
stem meadows in a productive condition, it is necessary 
to break them up every three or four years. (A plat of 
bluestem in the grass-garden of the Department of 
Agriculture is seen in Fig. 41.) 

There are a few other wild grasses of the West that 
may prove valuable for hay production on lands that 
do not now produce tame hay crops, for lack of suffi- 
cient moisture; but as their value is as yet entirely 
problematical, they do not need to be enumerated 
here. Extensive investigations are now in progress, 
with a view to testing them for this purpose. 

Large Water-grass (Paspalum dilatatum) is 
one of the native grasses of the South that has recently 
attracted attention, particularly for pasture purposes. 
It is exceedingly well liked by stock, and furnishes 



190 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

abundance of feed on medium to moist soils. The 
stems grow two and one-half to three feet high, but 
are not leafy enough to produce much hay. It is de- 
cidedly bunchy in habit, each clump producing a great 
mass of succulent root leaves which are greedily eaten 
by all classes of stock. Prof. S. M. Tracy, for many 




FIG. 41 — PLAT OF BLUESTEM IN THE GRASS- GARDEN AT 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 

years director of the Mississippi Experiment Station, 
regards this as one of the valuable pasture-grasses of 
the South. Its seed has recently been made available 
in the markets. 

Guinea-grass (Panicum maximum) and Para 
grass (Panicuni molle) are two grasses that have at- 
tracted considerable attention in southern Florida in 
recent years. They are the standard grasses of the 
West Indies, where the green forage, particularly from 
guinea-grass, furnishes most of the roughage fed in 



GRASSES OF MINOR IMPORTANCE 191 



cities. It is brought to market fresh from the field on 
the backs of donkeys, and peddled about the streets. 
Para grass is much used for pasture on the islands. In 
Florida neither of these grasses produce seed. They 
are propagated by cuttings, and the expense of secur- 
ing a stand greatly reduces their usefulness. Most of 
the arable land of southern Florida is so valuable for 
trucking purposes that farmers cannot afford to grow 
grasses of any kind; but since these are the only ones 
yet found that thrive under the peculiar soil and cli- 
matic condition of the region, and since considerable 
feed is required for the farm stock, many attempts have 
been made to grow them. Grasses are particularly 
needed on the few dairy-farms to be found in that re- 
gion. The amount of milk produced is far less than 
the demand, largely for the reason that dairymen are 
compelled to ship hay from the North. If practical 
methods of establishing these grasses can be worked 
out, it will render dairying a profitable industry there. 

Prof. Frank S. Earle, of the Cuban Department of 
Agriculture, says, regarding these two grasses : " As 
to guinea-grass, it is the best pasture and hay grass in 
the world. I do not know how it will do in Florida 
sands, as I have seen it only in rich lands. It is usu- 
ally planted by slips. I have never seen the seed, nor 
heard of its being planted. The Para grass is not as 
nutritious as the guinea-grass, and it grows best in 
wet, half-swampy places. It is as hard to kill as John- 
son grass, and I regard it as a rather bad weed. Still, 
like Johnson grass, it is a fine thing in its place, and 
yields enormously on lands that are too wet for any- 
thing else." 



XIII 



GRASSES FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS 



CATTERED over the country, in more or less ex- 
tensive areas, are tracts of land that for one 
reason or another are not suitable for ordinary 
crops; yet, for some special reason, it may be 
desirable to utilize them. Such are the salt-marshes 
along the seaboard, inland swamps and overflowed 
lands, sandy lands that are liable to drift if left un- 
covered, lands too dry for ordinary crops, and the alka- 
line soils of the arid and semi-arid West. There are 
grasses more or less perfectly adapted to all of these 
unusual conditions, but, unfortunately, most of them 
are not amenable to cultivation. Most of them have 
such poor seed habits that it is impracticable to save 
their seed, and the best that can be done is to make 
use of them as the}' are found growing. Just why 
certain grasses should grow so abundantly without as- 
sistance, and yet fail to respond to man's efforts to 
propagate them, is not entirely clear. In most "cases 
they are grasses which are adapted to a very narrow 
range of conditions. A very slight change in their en- 
vironment seems to be sufficient to cause them to fail. 
In order to succeed with them we should have to learn 
their peculiarities better than we know them now. It 
is not surprising that we are ignorant of these little util- 




GRASSES FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS 1 93 



ized grasses, for it takes the combined experience of 
many thousands of farmers to determine the peculiari- 
ties and adaptability of any new crop. 

WET LANDS 

Lands too wet for cultivation are frequently ex- 
tremely fertile, and w T ould be very productive if we 
could find grasses that could be started upon them 
merely by scattering the seed. There are many wild 
grasses, and a few tame ones, adapted to such soils. 
Some of these wild species produce excellent feed, and 
a careful study should be made of them with a view 
to learning how to propagate them by seed. 

Where land, not otherwise inclined to be wet, is 
merely overflowed by running streams for a period of 
a few days at a time, it is usually not difficult to grow 
the ordinary grasses. Even alfalfa thrives under these 
conditions. But where the land is covered for long 
periods, and particularly where stagnant water remains 
for a considerable time, the problem is much more 
serious. Even the wild swamp- grasses will not stand 
prolonged submergence in stagnant water, particularly 
in warm weather. Many grasses will grow in shallow 
water, but none of any value can bear continued sub- 
mergence of the whole plant. Timothy can be started 
on moderately wet soils merely by sowing the seed. 
On soils a little too wet for timothy, redtop and 

Fowl-meadow grass (Poa serotina) can be started 
in the same manner. The latter grass is a very good 
one, but it is not much used, so that seed obtained 
in the markets is apt to be old or otherwise of poor 
quality. These two grasses, mixed with alsike clover, 



194 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

make the best combination for wet or overflowed lands 
of any grasses whose seed can be had in the markets ; 
but they are not adapted to very wet lands, such as 
remain muddy throughout the season. For such lands 
we have to depend at present on the chance growth 
of wild grasses. In the South barn-yard grass, already 
mentioned with the Japanese millets, grows on rather 
wet lands. Its seed is easily saved, and it is worth 
more attention than it has heretofore received in that 
section, particularly on lands subject to June over- 
flow. 

Wild rice {Zizania aquatica) is a very large, suc- 
culent grass that grows even in shallow water, and fur- 
nishes excellent green feed for cattle w T hen it can be 
harvested. A dairyman near Washington city annu- 
ally cuts a large area of it for soiling purposes, and re- 
ports it to be excellent feed. Its seed furnishes valu- 
able feed for fish and w r ater-fowl. A few dealers offer 
seed of this grass. 

Large w^ater-GRASS (Paspalum dilatatuni) is said 
to be a valuable grass on wet lands in the South. Its 
seed has recently been placed on the market. There 
are numerous other grasses, yielding feed of fair to 
good quality, growing on swampy land in all parts of 
the country, but those mentioned are the only ones of 
w T hich seed is available at the present time. 

SANDY LANDS 

For drifting sands only one grass has thus far been 
successfully used— namely : 

Beach-grass (Ammophila arenaria). — This is the 
' 'Marram" grass of Australia. Extensive planta- 



FIG. 42 — SEASIDE BLUE-GRASS 



195 



196 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



tions of it have been made on our North Atlantic 
Coast and in Western Europe. It also thrives in the 
sands on the shores of the Great Lakes. It is propa- 
gated entirely from sets, not from seed. Of cultivated 
grasses, millet is adapted to rather sandy soils, and 
rye is an excellent winter crop for such lands ; but 
these two crops are not adapted to the sandiest soils. 
Canada blue-grass (Poa compressa) possesses some 
advantages as a pasture or lawn grass where the soil 
is sandy. 

In the South there are several good grasses for this 
purpose, the best being Bermuda grass, carpet-grass, 
and 

St. Augustine Grass {Stenotaphrum dimidea- 
tuvi). — All three of these are propagated from cuttings 
or pieces of sod. St. Augustine grass occurs along the 
Atlantic Coast from Charleston, S. C, southward, but 
does not extend far inland. It is a popular lawn grass 
in that section. Numerous grasses are found growing 
on more or less sand}' land in the West, but none of 
them have found their way into the markets. 

Velvet-grass (Holcus lanatus), one of the oldest 
domesticated grasses in England, is, in the immediate 
vicinity of the Pacific Coast, a first-class meadow grass 
on soils that consist of nearly pure sand. It is dis- 
cussed in a previous chapter. 

Seaside Blue-grass {Poa macrantha) (Fig. 42) is 
also found on the sands at the mouth of the Columbia 
River. This grass may be worth looking after. It 
produces an abundance of seed, which is easily har- 
vested. Whether it has any value away from the coast 
is not known. 



GRASSES FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS 



197 



DRY LANDS 

Some of the cultivated grasses are noted for drouth- 
resistance, and are of great value in regions of com- 
paratively light rainfall. The most notable of these is 
brome-grass. In the South, Johnson grass is of some 
value as a drouth-resister, as is also Bermuda grass. 
These have already been discussed. There are many 
wild grasses that thrive in regions where the rainfall 
is too slight for farming, and several million acres of 
such grasses are annually cut for hay in the West. An 
enumeration of them would be out of place in a treatise 
on farm grasses. 

ALKALI SOILS 

All soils contain more or less soluble mineral mat- 
ter. Soil consists mostly of small rock particles com- 
posed chief!}' of quartz, but containing small quantities 
of numerous substances. As these rock particles disin- 
tegrate under the action of moisture, air. heat, and cold, 
small portions of soluble substances are set free in the 
soil. In humid climates these substances are washed 
out and carried off by streams to the ocean. This is 
the origin of the saltness of sea-water. This process 
has been going on ever since rain began to fall on the 
hot crust of the newly formed earth, and the ocean has 
thus become the storehouse of vast quantities of solu- 
ble material formerly constituting part of the rock and 
soil of the earth's surface. 

In arid climates, where the rainfall is insufficient to 
saturate the soil down to the water-table below, and 
where most of the rain that falls is evaporated from the 



I98 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

surface, these soluble substances colledl in the soil 
until the quantity becomes so great as to be detrimental 
to plant life. This produces alkali soils. Where 
these salts are abundant in the soil they tend to collect 
in low places, where most of the evaporation occurs. 
Irrigation frequently causes alkali to rise to the surface 
on soils where plants grew readily at first, but which 
soon became too salty from the evaporation of the salt- 
laden w T ater. 

Some species of plants have become adapted by 
nature to these strong alkali soils. Among cultivated 
crops there are varying degrees of resistance to alkali. 
Alfalfa w 7 ill grow on rather strongly alkaline soils. 
Australian salt-bush thrives on decidedly strong alkali. 
Neither of these are, however, true grasses. None of 
the cultivated grasses is decidedly alkali loving, but 
several wild species of the West are not averse to it. 
The most useful of these are : 

Giant Rye-grass {Elymus condensates). — This 
grass produces an abundance of good seed which could 
easily be saved if a demand were created for it. It 
grow r s in the wild state in large clumps, but when the 
seed is sown at the rate of 25 or 30 lbs. per acre it 
makes a uniform growth, and gives a large yield of 
coarse but palatable hay. The hay is said, by those 
who have fed it, to be very nutritious, but it contains 
salts enough to make it decidedly laxative. It is, 
therefore, better adapted for cows than for horses. 
Yet some farmers who have grown it for horse- 
feed speak highly of it. It deserves attention as a 
hay grass on soils too strongly alkaline for alfalfa. 
(A typical view on ranges of the West, showing 



GRASSES FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS 



199 



Elymus condensatits in low alkaline soil, is seen in 
Fig. 43-) 

Saet-grass (Distichlis maritinia), a small, sod- 
forming grass, grows on soils very strongly alkaline. 
Some forms of it grow tall enough to cut for hay. It 




FIG. 43 — TYPICAL VIEW ON RANGES OF THE WEST 
SHOWING BUNCHES OF GIANT RYE GRASS 

is too salty for first-class feed, but stock eat it very 
readily when better feed is scarce. Xo attention has 
been given to its propagation. It is a shy seed-bearer, 
but a little attention from the plant-breeder could 
doubtless develop a strain of salt-grass of considerable 
value for soils too strongly alkaline for other grasses. 



XIV 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING * 

A- well-made and well-kept piece of greensward 
is a beautiful and pleasing object, restful alike 
iBKB to the eye and body. It thus has both aesthetic 
and practical value, and justifies whatever ex- 
penditure its making and maintenance entail. 

GRASSES FOR THE LAWN 

In selecting the grass the lawn-maker will be lim- 
ited to the fine-leaved, turf-forming species suited to 
his conditions of soil and climate. Adaptability is of 
more importance than color or texture, though these 
must be considered. There is usually more than one 
species adapted to any given conditions. The United 
States may be divided into three general sections, be- 
tween which, however, no definite line can be drawn. 

NORTHERN STATES 

For all this section, extending from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, with minor exceptions, Kentucky blue- 
grass is the standard for lawn-making. The excep- 
tions are the Atlantic Coast, discussed below, and parts 
of the Great Plains region where rainfall is somewhat 
deficient. In this latter region buffalo-grass and Can- 
ada blue-grass should be carefully tried. Over most 
of the Northern States redtop and the other bent grasses 

* By Carleton R. Ball, United States Department of Agriculture. 
200 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 201 

can also be used. They love moist, clayey, or loam} 7 
soils. In gravelly or sterile soils in the northern 
part, Canada blue-grass outranks its better-known 
relative. 

ATLANTIC COAST 

From Maine to Maryland and Virginia blue-grass 
does not thrive near the coast. The slight elevation, 
heavy rainfall, and moist clay soils do not seem adapted 
to its best development. Redtop and the bent grasses 
are here at their best. They supersede blue-grass in 
lower New England and at other points along the coast. 
Over part of this area the soil is normally somewhat 
acid, a condition apparently not harmful to species of 
Agrostis. At Washington, D. G., redtop is being used 
exclusively in new seeding on the Public Grounds. 

SOUTHERN STATES 

Bermuda grass is the standard lawn grass in most 
of this region. It has all the characters of a good lawn 
grass except that it is not resistant to frost. The first 
heavy frost of autumn changes it from a beautiful 
green to a light brown color, and thus it remains until 
late in the following spring. Scarifying the sward with 
the disk-harrow in the fall and sowing a winter grass, 
such as Italian rye-grass, has been recommended and 
has proved successful in some trials. St. Lucie grass, 
a variety of Bermuda, and St. Augustine grass, a 
coarser, creeping species of the Florida coast, are also 
used. Korean lawn-grass is similar to St. Augustine 
grass. All these are not frost resistant, or at best but 
little more so than Bermuda. 



202 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



DESCRIPTION OF GRASSES 

Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L,. ) Pers.). By 
its strongly creeping habit, resistance to heat, drouth, 
grazing, and trampling, and its adaptability to both 
sandy and clayey soil, this grass is of the greatest 
value for Southern lawns. The objections to it are 
that the foliage is not resistant to frost, though the 
plant does not winter-kill below the latitude of Wash- 
ington and St. Louis. It is also hard to eradicate, and 
spreads readily from the lawn to adjacent fields and 
gardens. The objection to its being non-resistant to 
frost is in part overcome by sowing a winter grass with 
it each fall. The Bermuda sod is cut up with a disk- 
harrow, and the seed sown thereon. Italian rye-grass 
has been successfully used for this purpose. Bermuda 
grass can be started either from seed or cuttings. Eight 
to ten pounds of seed will be sufficient in well-prepared 
soil. The cuttings may be made by running clean turf 
through a fodder-cutter, or chopping it by hand, and 
planting the pieces in shallow furrows a foot or so 
apart. The land must be leveled after planting, or the 
use of the lawn-mower will be very difficult. 

St. Lucie grass is a variety of Bermuda grass which 
is said not to root so deeply in the earth and to be 
slightly more resistant to frost. It is found in eastern 
Florida, St. Augustine grass {Stenotaphrum dimidia- 
tuvi) is found along the southern Atlantic Coast from 
Maryland southward. In habit it is much like Ber- 
muda grass, but is coarser, with broader leaves, and 
is more easily eradicated. It has been used for lawns 
to some extent in the Carolinas and Florida. Korean 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



203 



lawn-grass (Osterdamia matrella (%.) Kuntze) is a com- 
mon grass of the Orient, but not yet obtainable com- 
mercially. It is much like St. Augustine grass in 
character. Though slightly hardier than Bermuda, it 
is not frost resistant. 

Carpet-grass (Paspalum compressum (Sw.) Nees) is 
a low, creeping species, resembling Bermuda in habit, 
apparently native to the Gulf Coast. It seems to thrive 
best on somewhat sandy lands where it is closely grazed 
and trampled. It flourishes in spite of heat and drouth, 
and holds washing soils well. For years it has been 
gradually extending its range northward in the Gulf 
States. Though the seed is not on the market, this 
grass should be tried for lawns in that section. Cut- 
tings can be used for starting the sward, as in the case 
of Bermuda grass. It is much more resistant to frost 
than that species. 

Canada blue-grass (Poa compressa L.) is of lower 
and more w 7 iry growth than Kentucky blue-grass and 
also darker in color. Although an introduced grass, 
it is now found quite abundantly in the States about the 
Great Lakes. On rather dry, gravelly, or somewhat 
sterile soils it is more successful than Kentuckv blue- 
grass, and should be used in such situations. It has 
given good results in parts of the Plains region west of 
the Missouri River, where rainfall is light. 

Fescues (Festuca spp. ). There are several species 
or varieties of the fine-leaved fescues, which are of con- 
siderable value for lawn-making in shaded places or 
on poor or gravelly hillside soils. Among them are : 
Festuca australis, hard fescue (F. duriuscula) , various- 
leaved fescue (F. heterophylla) , sheep's fescue (oviua). 



204 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

red fescue (F. rubra), and fine-leaved fescue (F. tenui- 
folia). Most of these, except red fescue, are probably 
forms of sheep's fescue. Various-leaved fescue and 
hard fescue are recommended for shady lawns. All 
have fine, needle-like leaves, which need but little cut- 
ting, as their growth is slow and they reach but a few 
inches in hight. Most of them are bunchy in habit, 
and must be sow r n thickly to form a turf. 

Italian rye-grass {Lolium italicum L. ) . This is not 
a true lawn grass, but is often used in mixtures because 
of its hardiness and ver} T rapid growth, w r hich enable it 
to quickly cover, bare ground with a pleasing coat of 
green. It is short-lived, and will be seen but little after 
the second year. 

Kentucky blue-grass (Poa pratensis !,.)• This is 
the king of lawn grasses for the greater part of this 
country, and is held to be the standard of color and 
quality of turf. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, ex- 
cept in the extreme South, it is successfully grown with 
uniform and pleasing results. To the low moist clays 
of the immediate Atlantic Coast it is not as well adapted 
as redtop or creeping bent, and at lower altitudes than 
the Piedmont region of the South it must give way to 
Bermuda grass or other creeping species. Blue-grass 
does not reach its best development in the first }^ear 
from seed, but gradually produces a splendid and dur- 
able sw r ard. It does not do w T ell in heavy shade, but is 
suitable for parks and partly shaded areas. It is not 
adapted to acid soils, but prefers those of limestone 
origin. 

Rough-stalked meadow-grass (Poa trivialis L. ) and 
wood meadow-grass (Poa nemoralis L,.) are two species 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



205 



closely related to Kentucky blue-grass. The latter 
closely resembles it, but the former is a lighter green 
in color, and the leaves are more shining. Both are 
adapted to use in shaded situations in the sections 
where blue-grass and redtop are used. They can also 
be used farther south because protected from the heat 
by the shade under which they grow. 

Redtop (Agrostis alba L. ) . This is one of our best- 
known grasses, and, though rather coarse in foliage, 
lends itself well to lawn-making. It forms a close, 
durable sward, soft in texture where mowed frequently 
to induce the production of fine foliage. Neither cold 
nor heat are specially injurious to it, but moist, clayey 
soils are preferred. In the region of L,akes Erie and 
Ontario and in the upper Atlantic Coast redtop is largely 
used, both in mixtures and alone. It forms a large 
percentage in practically all the lawn-grass mixtures 
sold in this country, and on the whole is one of the 
best grasses for the purpose. It has a special field 
in the moist and somewhat acid soils of the lower 
New England States and the northern Atlantic Coast, 
where blue-grass does not thrive. 

Two similar and closely related species are creeping 
bent (Agrostis stolonifera) and Rhode Island bent (A. 
canina) . The former is regarded as a variety of redtop, 
but is much finer in habit and foliage, and produces the 
softest and most velvety turf of any grass in this coun- 
try. Rhode Island bent is intermediate in habit and 
texture between the other two. All are adapted to the 
same conditions of soil and climate. Rhode Island bent 
is largely used in Rhode Island and Connecticut, 
where practically all the seed is grown. 



206 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



MAKING THE LAWN 

The greatest of care is necessary in preparing the 
seed-bed. The ideal condition for the successful grow- 
ing of fine lawn grass is a deep, rich, friable, loamy 
soil. Too much emphasis can not be laid on the im- 
portance of good soil and thorough preparation. Deep 
plowing of larger areas and deep spading or trenching 
of small plats is required to a depth of at least ten 
or twelve inches. Where the fertile surface soil is but 
a few inches in depth it should be turned so as to 
leave the good soil still at the surface. 

While the plowing or spading is being done is the time 
to enrich the land for years of future productiveness. 
Well rotted barnyard manure, free from weeds and in 
good condition for mixing with the soil, is probably 
the best fertilizer that can be used. It is often difficult 
to obtain manure of this quality. Where used its fer- 
tilizing effecft may be increased and prolonged by add- 
ing also some commercial fertilizers. In preparing 
land for a lawn, manure may profitably be applied at 
the rate of from thirty to fifty tons per acre. It is 
desirable to add phosphoric acid and potash in larger 
quantities than are supplied by the manure. Using 
bone meal at the rate of from three hundred to six 
hundred pounds per acre, or superphosphate of lime, 
commonly called acid phosphate, in smaller quantities, 
will supply the needed phosphoric acid. 

Potash may be had in the form of wood ashes, which 
should be applied at the rate of five to ten tons per acre. 
Ashes contain also much lime, which is helpful to the 
growth of clovers and most of the grasses, except the 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



207 



bent grasses. Kainit may also be used as a source of 
potash. These fertilizers must be thoroughly worked 
into the soil while the ground is being prepared. Seed 
should not be sown for ten days or more after the appli- 
cation of strong commercial fertilizers in large quanti- 
ties, as the delicate seedlings are apt to be injured 
thereby. 

After thorough working and fertilizing, the sur- 
faces of the seed-bed must be put into exceedingly fine 
tilth for the reception of the seed. This is accom- 
plished by the aid of the acme and smoothing harrows, 
or, on small areas, the hand-rake and the roller. 
No effort should be spared to bring the surface to the 
desired tilth. A recent invention, the disk smoothing 
harrow, has proven very well adapted to the pur- 
pose. If the ground has been very deeply worked it 
may be well to let it settle a day or two before the 
final preparation of the surface. 

SEED AND SEEDING 

Only the best quality of seed should be used. It 
may cost much more than the cheaper grades, but is 
least expensive in the end. Cheap grades contain 
large quantities of chaff and other inert matter, as well 
as the seeds of many kinds of noxious weeds. By 
actual weight weed seeds constitute from one to three 
per cent, of the average lawn grass-seed, while chaff 
makes up from twenty to fifty per cent. , and even more. 
This inert matter does no harm when sown, but is 
expensive at the price paid for it as seed. 

The weight per bushel of the commercial grass- 
seeds varies with their quality. The standard or legal 



208 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

weight of blue-grass and redtop has been 14 lbs. in 
most States. This standard was established when it 
was impossible to clean grass-seed. Ordinary grades 
are now quoted at from 14 to 20 lbs. , and fancy or extra 
fancy seed at 20 to 36 and even 40 lbs. per bushel. 
These differences are due almost entirely to variations 
in the amount of chaff present. 

The most important factors aff ecfling the rate of seed- 
ing of lawn grasses are the quality of the seed, the time 
of year, the condition of the soil, and the purpose for 
which sown. From two to four bushels of seed are 
commonly recommended. Three or four bushels of 
good seed, weighing at least 25 lbs. to the bushel, is 
the proper amount to sow. Four bushels per acre is 
at the rate of four-fifths of a quart per square rod, or 
one quart to 340 square feet of surface, which equals 
an area 17 by 20 feet. By weight it is 10 ounces per 
square rod, or one pound to 436 square feet, which 
equals approximately an area 20 by 22 feet. If 20 
lbs. to the bushel is taken as an average weight, and 
the seed be sown at the rate of four bushels per acre, 
it requires a half pound per square rod, or one pound 
on 500 square feet of land, which is an area 20 by 25 
feet. Quality of the seed as regards purity and vitality 
must, after all, control the amount sown. Seed con- 
taining much chaff and of low germinating power 
should be sown at the rate of six bushels per acre. 
Where the weight is 30 to 35 lbs. per bushel, and the 
percentage of germinable seed is high, the amount 
need not be over three bushels. Intermediate grades 
should be sown in proportion. 

In late spring or late fall sow more heavily than in 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



more favorable seasons. Midsummer sowings should 
be especially heavy. For lawns, sandy soils will re- 
quire heavier seeding than loamy ones, dry soils more 
than moist ones, sterile soils more than fertile ones, 
on account of the low germination under these con- 
ditions, and rough land more than land in perfect tilth. 
Areas which are to be subject to rougher and more 
constant usage require heavier seeding and also special 
kinds of grasses. In general, small plats should re- 
ceive proportionately more seed than larger areas. As 
a rule, heavy seeding will be well repaid in all lawn 
formation. 

The seed may be sown either by hand or with the 
grass-seeding attachment on a grain drill, or with a 
wheelbarrow seeder. If the area is large the use of a 
machine is decidedly preferable. The wheelbarrow 
seeder, though run by hand-power, will sow faster 
than a drill. The seed is also likely to be more evenly 
distributed with the machine than by hand unless the 
sower has had much experience. A time should be 
chosen when but little air is stirring. With either 
hand or machine seeding it is best to go over the land 
twice, the second time at right angles to the first, in 
order to avoid leaving unsown spots. White clover- 
seed may be mixed with the grass-seed before sowing, 
and if a mixture of grass-seeds is used it should be 
made by thoroughly mixing the seed in some large 
vessel and all the kinds sown at once. 

As soon as sown the seed should be immediately 
covered. This may be done either with the iron rake 
or the roller, or both. If the rake is used it must be 
done very lightly, as small grass-seeds will not germi- 



2IO FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

nate if covered to any considerable depth. An eighth 
of an inch is an ideal depth, and one-fourth inch as 
deep as is at all safe. The careful use of the roller 
will press all the seed into the soil, and at the same 
time it firms the surface soil in a very helpful way. 
On small plats a light mulch of rotten leaf mold or 
similar substance will protect from birds and prevent 
the drying of the surface soil. If it is necessary to 
water to promote germination this should be done 
w 7 ith great care, imitating a gentle rain as much as 
possible. At the same time it is well to full}' soak 
the ground, so that no more water may be neces- 
sary till the grass is well up and out of danger of 
injury. 

Grass-seeds may be sown at almost any time of the 
year. The early spring and early fall months are de- 
cidedly preferable, however. Most of our lawn grasses 
— at least, those used in the Northern States — are 
adapted to cool climates, and make their best growth in 
cool weather. Spring sowing should be done as early as 
possible, so that the grass may become firmly established 
before hot weather sets in. Fall sowing should be done 
in the latter part of August or in September. Grasses 
started then will be well set before winter. Seeds sown 
late in October will generally not germinate that fall, 
but if conditions are favorable will remain in the ground 
over winter and start very early the following spring. 
Unless a quick cover crop is needed to prevent washing 
of the land or for the green appearance, no nurse crop 
should be used with grass-seed. Grasses seldom need 
any protection, and are often injured by the shading and 
smothering of the more vigorous nurse crop. 



I^AWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



211 



TURF AND TURFING 

Where a good quality of turf can be secured it is 
often advisable to use turf in covering small plats. It 
should be cut in strips ten inches or more in width and 
about two or three feet long. These should be laid on 
a level bed of good soil, and carefully packed down 
and the joints evenly matched. If, on drying, cracks 
are formed between the sods, these must be filled with 
pure earth. Seed may be sown in them if desired. 
Freshly laid turf must be kept well watered while the 
new roots are starting and a compact sward is being 
formed. Turfing is not recommended, however, be- 
cause of the great difficulty of securing turf of desir- 
able grasses free from weeds and weed-seeds. 

MOWING 

Much of the beauty and health of a grass sward will 
depend on frequent and regular mowing during the 
growing months. Once a week will be often enough 
to mow the average lawn, though when the grass is in 
the period of most vigorous growth it may be necessary 
to mow oftener. Mowing every three or four days will 
not injure the grass in any way if a short, firm sward 
is desired. Young grass may be allowed to reach a 
hight of five inches before being mowed at all, and the 
work should then be done with a scythe rather than a 
lawn-mower. During hot weather the grass on a thin 
sward should not be mown so closely as to permit the 
drying out of the surface and injury to the grass roots. 
Where the stand is thin it is well to allow the cut grass 
to remain on the ground, especially in hot weather, 



212 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



when it forms a very useful mulch. In general, how- 
ever, it should be removed after each cutting. At the 
end of autumn the grass should be allowed to grow 




FIG. 44 — GREENSWARD IN PUBLIC GARDENS, BOSTON, MASS. 
(Lamson-Scribner in Year-book of United States Department of 
Agriculture for 1897.) 

taller and should be left uncut, so that it may hold the 
snow better and thus be protected during the winter. 

Views of well-kept lawns are presented in figures 
44 and 45. 

WATERING 

Lawns, in order to be kept fresh and green, require 
ordinarily a great deal of water. While water must, 
therefore, be used liberally, it must be applied with 
care. Sprinkling should be done either in the early 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



213 



morning or in the evening, after the heat of the day 
has passed. The small plats of turf about city houses 
suffer severely from being watered late in the morning, 




FIG. 45 — LAWN-MOWERS, OR TURF-MAKERS, IN DRUID HILL 

PARK, BALTIMORE, MD. 

(Lamson-Scribner in Year book of United States Department of 
Agriculture for 1897.) 

and the wet grass then subjected to the full heat of the 
summer sun, intensified by the surrounding walks and 
buildings. A proper sprinkling nozzle should also be 
used on the hose. When this is not done the turf may 
be greatly injured. Where the full force of the stream 
is allowed to strike directly against the surface of a 
thin sward, the soil is washed slowly from the roots 
of the grasses and they are thus exposed to the sun 



214 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

and killed. This is especially true on terraces and 
banks where the earth is more easily disturbed, and 
where the sun's heat falls more vertically at times. 
It is better to water heavily, soaking the ground 
to a depth of a foot or two, than to apply water in 
small amounts and more frequently. On all but the 
smallest plats a sprinkler of the fountain or revolving 
type can be advantageously used. These save a great 
deal of time and labor in applying the water, but care 
must be taken that corners and other small spaces are 
not left without water. 

rolling 

Next to the mower the roller is a most important 
implement. It should be used in early spring to firm 
the sward after the heaving of the soil due to freezing 
and thawing in winter. After heavy rains during 
summer and autumn, and on young swards as soon as 
they can bear it, the roller should be used. Those 
made in two or more sections are preferred, because 
they turn with less injury to the soil and sward. The 
most good will be done by the roller weighing at least 
fifteen pounds to the inch of length. One is now for 
sale which may be increased in weight at will by fill- 
ing a hollow compartment with sand or water. 

FERTILIZING OR TOP-DRESSING 

No matter how thorough the preparation, the lawn 
will eventually demand a new supply of food. This 
must be given in the form of natural or artificial fer- 
tilizer. Well-rotted barnyard manure is unexcelled 
for this purpose. It may be applied in the fall and 



LAWNS AND LAWN-MAKING 



215 



allowed to remain through the winter, raking off all 
straw and trash remaining in the spring when growth 
starts. Or it may be applied very early in the spring, 
just in time to be dissolved and carried into the ground 
by the heavy spring rains. In either case nothing 
coarse should be left on the ground when the grass 
begins its growth. Commercial fertilizers, such as 
ground bone or bone meal, dried blood, and nitrate of 
soda, may also be used. From 200 to 500 lbs. may be 
used at a single. time. It is necessary to apply them 
just before the beginning of a rain or to wash them 
into the soil with the hose when a large quantity is 
used, in order to prevent burning the grass. They 
should never be applied to the grass while wet from 
dew or rain, as the grass leaves may be severely 
burned by the chemical ingredients, unless the fer- 
tilizer is quickly washed in by the addition of more 
water. Nitrate of soda is adapted for rapid forcing 
of the grass, and the effect is soon spent. The others 
are slower and more lasting in their action. 

WEEDING 

It is not possible to do more than mention the sub- 
ject of weeding here. No effort should be spared to 
keep the grass free from weeds. They impair the 
beauty and usefulness of the sward, and even threaten 
its very life by their rapid and vigorous growth. An- 
nual weeds should be kept carefully mowed ; if no seed 
are allowed to ripen, they will soon disappear. If they 
spread rapidly and smother the sward as does crab- 
grass, they should be uprooted if possible. Perennials, 
as dandelion, plantains, and similar weeds should be 



21 6 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

carefully dug out and destroyed. On no account allow 
them to produce and scatter their seed. A few drops 
of some strong acid, such as sulphuric or carbolic, ap- 
plied to the cut root will help in destroying them. 
Places left bare by their removal should be raked over 
and resown in grass to prevent other weed seeds from 
finding lodgment there. 

RENOVATION 

Eternal vigilance is the price of a perfect sward. 
Wherever a break occurs in the turf covering it should 
be at once repaired. An iron rake will prepare the 
spot for seeding, and with a little seed and a, gentle 
watering the new growth of grass may be started. 
The seeding of such spots should be heavy, for the 
ground can rarely be more than scratched with the 
rake instead of thoroughly worked up, and much of 
the seed will never develop sturdy plants. Thin places 
in the turf may be treated in the same manner without 
danger of injury to the grass already growing ; in fact, 
it is often perceptibly benefited by such treatment. Its 
growth helps to protect the new grass while starting. 
Renovated spots should be fertilized well to encourage 
rapid growth. Care must be taken that the same 
kind of seed is always used, or the result will be a 
ragged or patchy sward of very unpleasing appearance. 



XV 



MISCELLANY 



GRADES OF HAY 



he grades of hay adopted by the National Hay 
Association in 1902 are given below. These 
grades have been adopted by the Boards of 
Trade in the following important markets: 



They are also adhered to in practically all the 
smaller centres tributary to these larger cities. 



Choice Timothy Hay. — Shall be timothy not mixed 
with over one- twentieth other grasses, properly cured, 
bright, natural color, sound, and well baled. 

No. i, Timothy Hay. — Shall be timothy not more 
than one-eigth mixed with clover or other tame grasses, 
properly cured, good color, sound, and well baled. 



Chicago, 111. 
St. Louis, Mo. 
Kansas City, Mo. 
Indianapolis, Ind, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 
St. Paul, Minn. 
Toledo, O. 
Cincinnati, O. 
Cleveland, O. 
Baltimore, Md. 



Columbus, O. 
Louisville, Ky. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
New York, N. Y. 
Pittsburg, Pa. 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Washington, D. C. 
Richmond, Va. 
New Orleans, La. 
Norfolk, Ya. 



GRADES OF HAY AND STRAW 



2l8 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



No. 2, Timothy Hay. — Shall be timothy not good 
enough for No. i, not over one-fourth mixed with 
clover or tame grasses, fair color, sound, and well 
baled. 

No. j>, Timothy Hay. — Shall include all hay not 
good enough for other grades, sound, and well 
baled. 

No. 7, Clover-mixed Hay. — Shall be timothy and 
clover mixed, with at least one-half timothy, good 
color, sound, and well baled. 

No. 2, Clover-mixed Hay. — Shall be timothy and 
clover mixed, with at least one-third timothy, reason- 
ably sound, and well baled. 

No. /, Clover Hay. — Shall be medium clover, not 
over one-twentieth other grasses, properly cured, sound, 
and well baled. 

No. 2, Clover Hay. — Shall be clover, sound, well 
baled, not good enough for No. i. 

No Grade Hay. — Shall include all hay badly cured, 
threshed, badly stained, or otherwise unsound. 

Choice Prairie Hay. — Shall be upland hay, of bright 
color, well cured, sweet, sound, and reasonably free 
from weeds. 

No. z, Prairie Hay. — Shall be upland, and may con- 
tain one-quarter midland of good color, w r ell cured, 
sweet, sound, and reasonably free from weeds. 

No. 2, Prairie Hay.— Shall be upland of fair color, 
or midland of good color, well cured, sweet, sound, and 
reasonably free from w T eeds. 

No. J, Prairie Hay. — Shall be midland of fair color, 
or slough of fair color, well cured, sound, and reason- 
ably free from weeds. 



MISCELLANY 



219 



No, Prairie Hay. — Shall include all hay not good 
enough for other grades, and not caked. 

No Grade Prairie Hay. —Shall include all hay not 
good enough for other grades. 

STRAW 

No. 1, Straight Rye Straw. — Shall be in large bales, 
clean, bright, long rye straw, pressed in bundles, sound, 
and well baled. 

No. 2, Straight Rye Straw. — Shall be in large bales, 
long rye straw, pressed in bundles, sound, and well 
baled, not good enough for No. 1. 

No. 1, Tangled Rye Straw. — Shall be reasonably 
clean rye straw, good color, sound, and well baled. 

No. 2, Tangled Rye Straw. — Shall be reasonably 
clean, may be some stained, but not good enough for 
.No. 1. 

No. i ) Wheat Straw. — Shall be reasonably clean 
wheat straw, sound, and well baled. 

No. 2, Wheat Straw. — Shall be reasonably clean, 
may be some stained, but not good enough for No. i. 

No. z, Oat Straw. — Shall be reasonably clean oat 
straw, sound, and well baled. 

No. 2, Oat Straw. — Shall be reasonably clean, may 
be some stained, but not good enough for No. 1. 

In the Mountain States and on the Pacific Coast 
several other grades are recognized on the markets, 
the principal being the various grades of alfalfa and 
grain hay. The latter usually consists of wheat, or a 
mixture of wheat and wild oats. Bluestem has a sep- 
arate rating in a few localities. It is interesting to note 



220 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES - 

that the hay which ranks highest on the Denver mar- 
kets, and known locally as South Park Hay, is neither 
a grass nor a legume, but a sedge {/uncus balticus). 
It grows on over-irrigated meadows in South Park, 
Colorado, and in similar situations in other parts of 
that State and Wyoming. Horses prefer it to any 
other hay, and feeders consider it the acme of fine hay 
for driving-horses. It is stricftly a wild hay, cut from 
volunteer growth on meadows that are irrigated too 
heavily to permit tame grasses to grow. 

The amount of low-grade hay that reaches the mar- 
kets is surprising to those not familiar with market 
conditions. Leaving meadows down till they become 
weed-infested accounts largely for this cheap hay. 
The importance of renewing meadows before they be- 
come weedy has already been dwelt on at some length. 
An incident on one of the large hay markets, recently 
witnessed by the writer, enforces this point. A com- 
mission merchant had that morning received two car- 
loads of hay, one of first-class quality, and one badly 
mixed with weeds and volunteer grasses. The car of 
good hay sold immediately at a good price. The other 
car was passed by a dozen buyers, and finally sold for 
just two-thirds the price of the other. There were 
some fifty cars of low-grade hay on the same market 
and no one wanted them, but there was a string of buy- 
ers hunting for hay of good quality. 

MEASURING HAY IN THE STACK 

Lack of facilities for weighing hay on many farms 
renders it necessary frequently to resort to measure- 
ments of the stack as the only means of getting the 



MISCEU,ANY 



221 



weight. Frequent inquiries come to the Department 
of Agriculture for the ' ' government rule ' ' for ascer- 
taining the weight of hay from measurements. There 
is no such rule adopted by any branch of the govern- 
ment service, so far as the writer has been able to 
learn. So far as known, only one State (New Mexico) 
has a law governing the case. According to this law 
the number of cubic feet in a rick is determined thus : 
Multiply the width by the over ; * divide the product 
by four, and multiply the quotient by the length. 

This rule is not satisfactory. It is fairly accurate 
for very narrow-topped ricks that are about three- 
quarters as high as w r ide ; but for tall ricks, with well- 
rounded tops, it gives results nearly 30 per cent, too 
low. Another rule, recently published in a Western 
farm paper, is as follows : Subtradl the width from 
the over ; divide by two, and multiply by the width 
and then by the length. This rule is fairly accurate 
for tall ricks (as tall as wide or taller) with narrow to 
very narrow tops ; but for low, rounded ricks it gives re- 
sults about 1 5 per cent, too low. The writer has devised 
the following rule, which gives very accurate results 
for ricks of any form. The greatest error is in the 
case of ricks one- quarter taller than wide, or more, and 
very narrow at top. Even for ricks of this shape the 
error is less than 5 per cent. 

RULE FOR MEASURING RICKS 

Subtract the width from the over ; divide by the 
hight ; then multiply successively by the over, the 
width, the length, and by .225. 

* The "over" is the distance from the ground ou one side over the rick 
to the ground on the other side. 



222 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



The results obtained by applying all these rules to 
two ricks of different form are given below. 





Rick A 


Rick B 


Hight(ft.) ........ 


. . 9.0 


12.0 


Width (ft.) 




12. 1 


Over (ft.) 


. . 23.88 


28.2 




- • 2,534.4 


3,084.0 


Volume — First rule (cubic ft.) 


. . 2,149.2 


2,559-1 


Volume — Second rule (cubic ft.) 


. • 2,138.4 


2,922.1 


Volume — Third rule (cubic ft.) . 


. • 2,553.0 


3,087.0 


PER CENT. OF 


ERROR 








17.0 




. . 15.6 


5-2 




.7 


.1 



These two ricks were measured with the utmost 
care. It will be noticed that A is three-quarters as 
tall as wide ; it was also quite round. B is as tall as 
wide, and narrow topped — a very common form. The 
rule last given is seen to give very accurate results in 
both cases, while the other two give values much too 
small. In both cases the New Mexico rule gives large 
errors, the error being in favor of the buyer. The 
second rule gives a value much too small in the case 
of the low, round rick, but is more nearly corecft for 
the tall, sharp- topped one. 

No satisfactory rule for finding the volume of a 
round stack has yet been published, and the writer has 
not had time to develop one in his own investigations. 
The volume of such a stack may be found in the fol- 
lowing manner, which, however, is too tedious to be 
practicable: Measure the circumference of the stack at 
each foot of its hight. Square each of the numbers 



MISCELLAN * 



223 



thus obtained, add the squares together, and divide by 
12.5. 

NUMBER OF CUBIC FEET PER TON 

So far as the writer is able to ascertain, the num- 
ber of cubic feet of hay in a ton has been investigated 
very little. He is now measuring the volume of a 
large number of ricks, stacks, and mows, the hay 
from which is to be baled. It is hoped that these data 
may furnish a basis for determining the volume of a 
ton of hay with some degree of accuracy. Until the 
weight corresponding to the volumes measured are 
known, no reliable figures can be given. The prob- 
lem is so complex that no such satisfactory rule for 
estimating the number of cubic feet in a ton may be 
found as is given above for finding the volume of a 
rick of hay. 

The volume of a ton of hay depends on several 
factors. A stack that has stood four months is much 
denser than one freshly built. Hence the length of 
time a stack has stood determines, to some extent, the 
number of cubic feet in a ton of the hay. Also a tall 
stack settles more than a low one. The kind of hay 
also has much to do with it. Clover hay is lighter 
than timothy, volume for volume, and hay with stiff 
weed stems in it does not settle down as compactly as 
hay with no weeds in it. It is common to consider 
512 cubic feet (an 8-foot cube) as a ton in hay stacked 
only a few days, while 350 to 380 cubic feet of ha}' 
that has stood two months or more will usually make 
a ton. In developing rules for estimating the number 
of cubic feet in a ton of hay, the points to be deter- 
wined are (1) the rate at which hay settles after stack- 



224 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

ing ; (2) the relation of the hight of the stack to the 
rate of settling; (3) the influence of the kind of hay 
and its condition as to dryness when stacked on the 
number of cubic feet in a ton. Whether the results will 
be of much value will depend on whether the influence 
of these various factors can be reduced to rule. For 
the present the figures for the number of cubic feet in 
a ton given in the New Mexico law may be used pro- 
visionally, unless more accurate ones are known. 
They are: 512 cubic feet for the first twenty days, 
422 from the twentieth to the sixtieth day, and 380 
thereafter. 

SEED HABITS 

The amount of seed which can be harvested de- 
pends largely on the seed habits of the plant. Many 
otherwise excellent grasses are rendered useless by 
yielding very little seed, or seed which lacks vitality , or 
falls out too soon when ripe to be easily harvested. No 
grass excels timothy in good seed habits. In the 
amount of seed produced and the ease with which it is 
saved and cleaned, timothy has no rival among the 
true grasses. This fact probably accounts, in large 
measure, for the popularity of this grass with American 
farmers. Not that it yields so many more pounds of 
seed per acre than other grasses, but, its seed being 
small, an acre of timothy will produce seed enough to 
sow a larger area than is the case with any other grass 
grown in this country. An example of poor seed 
habits, and the resulting uselessness of a grass, is seen 
in reed canary-grass {Phalaris arundinacea) . It grows 
wild over nearly all the northern half of this country, 



MISCELLANY 



225 



and is greedily eaten by all classes of stock. Yet reed 
canary-grass is practically unknown to American farm- 
ers because of its exceedingly poor seed habits. Its 
seed falls almost the moment it is mature, and it is 
very difficult to get a stand from apparently good seed. 
Certain strains of this grass, however, hold the seed 
fairly well, and there is an opportunity for the plant 
breeder to add a valuable grass to the limited list of 
good American farm grasses by producing a strain of 
reed canary-grass with good seed habits. 

Bermuda grass, the best pasture-grass in the South, 
and one of the best in the world, as stated elsew T here in 
this volume, does not produce seed in this country, ex- 
cept in parts of Florida. Arizona, and Southern Cali- 
fornia. In one respect this is an important advantage, 
because Bermuda, like Johnson grass, is very tenacious 
of life, and, when once established, is decidedly diffi- 
cult to eradicate, unless one thoroughly knows how to go 
about it. It is, perhaps, fortunate under the circum- 
stances that it has such poor seed habits. On the 
other hand, the seed is small and lacking in vitality, 
so that even when the seed is available, it is seldom 
possible to get a perfect stand from it, and it is, there- 
fore, usually propagated from pieces of sod. 

Some grasses propagate so readily from the seed as 
to render them a menace to the farmer. Crab-grass 
and Johnson grass belong to this class. If Johnson 
grass had the seed habits of Bermuda grass, it would 
not be the great pest it is, for, although its root-stocks 
are very tenacious of life, it spreads mostly from the 
seed. Most of our otherwise valuable wild grasses are 
not adapted to cultivation because of poor seed habits. 



226 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 
IMPROVING THE GRASSES 

When we consider that the present improved and 
highly specialized breeds of live stock have nearly all 
been produced within the past century and a half from 
stock no better than the veriest scrubs that now roam 
the woods in sections where no effort to improve them 
has been made, and especially when by far the larger 
part of the improvement of any one breed has been 
made by a very few men working without the knowl- 
edge of any laws of breeding to aid them, it is not sur- 
prising that similar efforts should be made to improve 
the character of farm crops. Indeed, it is rather sur- 
prising that the effort did not become general long 
ago. But there are special difficulties in the way of 
improving crops that do not exist in the case of live 
stock. Improvement of animals has been brought 
about by dealing with them as individuals. On ac- 
count of the small size of individual plants, particularly 
the grasses, it is a tedious task to study individuals. 
Most of the improvement of animals has been brought 
about mainly by eliminating inferior members of the 
breeding herd. A few stockmen of signal ability have 
followed another course. They have become so thor- 
oughly familiar with animal form and character that 
they have been able to create for themselves mental 
pictures of ideally perfect animals, and they have 
searched through a whole breed for individuals ap- 
proaching this ideal. When such an individual is 
found it is acquired at any cost, and herds of these 
nearly ideal animals have been built up. The most 
rapid progress in the improvement of breeds generally 
is traceable to these few herds. 



MISCEIXANY 



227 



It is only recently that a similar effort has been 
made to improve field crops. In most cases the work 
of breeding plants requires more technical knowledge 
than most men possess. It is tedious work at best, 
and requires much training and skill to cross-pollinate 
the ordinary field crops or, to select out the best plants 
in a- field, or even in a small plat. It is natural that 
most progress should have been made with corn, for 
here the individual plants are of considerable size. As 
soon as farmers and plant breeders began to study the 
corn plant with a view to producing superior strains of 
the various varieties, marked improvements in seed 
corn began to be made. There are now many farmers 
who, by the aid received from careful students of the 
subjedl in our agricultural colleges, produce annually 
large quantities of pedigreed corn of a quality much 
superior in every way to the common corn varieties of 
the country. One breeder, who last year produced 
and sold 25,000 bushels of highly improved seed corn, 
estimates that those who planted this seed secured 
an average increase of eight to ten bushels per acre 
over seed of unimproved varieties. This estimate is 
based on reports furnished by farmers who used this 
seed. It should be remembered that this improve- 
ment has been brought about in a few years. When 
it has been in progress as long as has the improve- 
ment of live stock, we shall doubtless have breeds of 
corn as much superior to the common kinds as the 
present 2,000-pound bullock is to the 500-pound 
Smithfield show animal of a little more than a century 
ago. 

Wheat has received considerable attention from the 



2 28 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

plant breeder in recent years. Breeders have pursued 
two distinct courses with this crop. One set of breed- 
ers has been producing new varieties by crossing old 
ones. Thus far there has not been a great deal accom- 
plished in this direction. It is only about three years 
since we first learned how to handle the apparently 
variable progeny of such a cross. A few varities have 
been produced that possess special qualities of more or 
less value. Now that we know how to get all the pos- 
sible new varieties out of a cross, and can even tell in 
advance w T hat most of these varieties will be like, much 
more ought to be accomplished in this line of plant 
improvement. 

The other line of work with wheat has consisted in 
a careful study of a large number of individual plants 
in order to be able to save seed from the best. Prof. 
W. M. Hayes, of the Minnesota station, has done some 
excellent work of this kind, and has produced pedi- 
greed strains of some of the standard varieties of that 
section that considerably outyield the original varieties. 

Very little work of this kind has been undertaken 
with the standard hay and pasture grasses, but enough 
has been done to show valuable results. It has been 
showm that, in the crops that have been carefully 
studied, each kind of grass, as ordinarily sown by the 
farmer, consists in reality of a number of more or less 
distinct varieties mixed together. With the usual 
methods of securing grass-seed there is no opportunity 
to separate these varieties. In order to accomplish 
this, a careful study of the crop must be made until 
the grower is able to recognize the varieties of wdiich 
it consists. This has been done in a few cases. 



MISCELLANY 



229 



Dr. A. D. Hopkins, at present connected with the 
Bureau of Entomology of the Department of Agricul- 
ture, but formerly of the West Virginia Experiment 
Station, for many years grew timothy for seed. For 
this purpose the crop is ordinarily sown thinly, so that, 
during the first harvest year, the plants are sufficiently 
distinct to permit of the observation of individual 
plants. Many years' close observation showed that 
the crop consists of a large number of constantly re- 
curring forms quite easily distinguished. A number 
of plants, each representing one of these forms, were 
taken up and separated into as many parts as the 
nature of the case permitted ; in this way each plant 
became the parent, by division, of a large number of 
plants, all set side by side in a plat. When seed was 
harvested from these plats it was found that the 
plants produced from these seeds reproduced faithfully 
the characters of the original selection. Each original 
selection, therefore, became the parent of a variety. 
Several of these varieties are now growing in the grass- 
garden of the Department of Agriculture, where they 
have been the object of careful observation. They 
differ markedly in character of growth, earliness, size, 
etc. Some of them are evidently far superior to the 
ordinary timothy as grown by farmers (which is a 
mixture of superior and inferior varieties), some for 
seed production, others as hay plants, and others as 
pasture plants. (Some of Dr. Hopkin's varieties of 
timothy exhibited at the Paris Exposition are shown 
in Figs. 46 and 47.) 

In a manner exactly similar, Mr. A. B. Leckenby, 
Director of the Eastern Oregon Experiment Station, 



2^2 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

has isolated twenty-two varieties of brome-grass 
(Bromus i?ier?n?s Leyss.) as distinct, for instance, in 
their agricultural characters, as the ordinary varieties 
of w 7 heat (see Fig. 48). He has also isolated a larger 
number of varieties of blue-grass (Poa prate?isis) , dif- 
fering to a remarkable degree in character of growth, 
and, consequently, in agricultural value. 

It is probable that all the standard grasses can like- 
wise be separated into varieties, some of which would 
be a marked improvement over these grasses as ordi- 
narily grown. Much work of this character is now in 
progress, and it will be only a few } T ears till farmers 
may be supplied with improved varieties of most of 
the important grass crops. 

GRASS FADS 

A w r ord of caution to farmers concerning much- 
advertised new grasses may not be out of place, though, 
unfortunately, those who most need this caution will 
never see these pages. Every few years some enter- 
prising seedsman discovers a new forage plant that, to 
quote from the seedsman's catalogue, "produces 
eighty tons of green feed per acre, is indestructible 
both by fire and water, and furnishes shade in summer 
and shelter against the storms of winter. ' ' Unfortu- 
nately, thousands of farmers have spent their hard- 
earned dollars for these much-advertised seeds at prices 
that amaze those who are familiar with their actual 
market value, only to learn that the}^ are worthless 
weeds, or some old and well-known forage plant that 
is masquerading under a new name. 

The two most prominent fads of this kind in recent 



234 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

years were sachaline, a well-nigh worthless representa- 
tive of the smartweed family, and penicillaria (Fig. 49), 
which proved to be only pearl millet under another name. 
Many other instances might be mentioned. These 
new crops soon find their place in agriculture. Some 
of them have turned out to have considerable value in 
certain sections of the country. Brome-grass (Bromus 
inermis) is a case in point. This grass began to be 
widely advertised about ten years ago in this country. 
It has turned out to be a valuable pasture grass in the 
Prairie States, and may in fime win a place in all the 
Northern States, but it is absolutely worthless south 
of Missouri and Kentucky. For several years past 
Turkestan alfalfa has been the most prominent fad 
with farmers. It has not yet found its place in Amer- 
ican agriculture, but will undoubtedly do so in the 
near future, for the State experiment stations and the 
Department of Agriculture are giving it a thorough 
trial all over the country. 

Farmers will find it to their advantage to wait till 
these trials are finished. Experiments are costly. 
Individual farmers can usually avoid such expense by 
leaving this work to those whose business it is to con- 
duct experiments. Exorbitant claims for any new 
crop should be viewed with suspicion. Much useless 
expense would be saved to farmers by writing to the 
better class of agricultural journals, the experiment 
stations, and the National Department of Agriculture 
for information concerning any new and much-adver- 
tised crop, for these authorities are usually in posses- 
sion of all the reliable information to be had concerning 
such things. 



FIG. 49 — PENICILLARIA, OR PEARL MILLET 



236 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



THE GRASS FLOWER 

The seed-head of the true grasses is of two general 
patterns. One is seen in the head of wheat, barley, 
timothy, etc. This form of seed-head is called a spike 
(see Fig. 50). Examination of ahead of wheat shows 
that it consists of a number of " meshes " arranged in 
two rows on opposite sides of a central stem. These 
meshes consist of from three to five flowers each, 
arranged in a compact cluster called a spikelet (Fig. 
51). In the timothy head the spikelets are not 
arranged in two opposite rows, but are scattered over 
an enlarged continuation of the stem. 

A very different pattern of seed-head is found in 
oats, Kentucky blue-grass, and the like. The flowers 
of these are grouped in spikelets , but the spikelets are 
not arranged on a single stem. They are found at the 
tips of the many branches of the stem. This much- 
branched form of seed-head is called a panicle (Fig. 52). 

Let us now examine more closely one of the small 
spikelets found at the tip of a branch of a blue-grass 
panicle. Fig. 51 shows one of these spikelets very 
much enlarged. Apparently it consists of seven parts 
very much alike. In reality the two lower divisions 
are merely two empty chaff-like leaves. The remain- 
ing five parts are complete flowers, having enclosed 
within each the organs that are seen in the expanded 
flower shown in Fig. 53. The names of these parts of 
a spikelet are shown in Fig. 51. The flowers of the 
true grasses are called florets. 

The parts of a single floret are well shown in Fig. 
53. First, there is the leaf-like floral glume, very much 
like the empty glume at the base of the spikelet. 




FIG. 50 — A SPIKE 



FIG. 51 — A SPIKELET 



238 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Next is the palet, which is another leaf-like organ, 
usually having two ridges on the back, with a furrow 
between them, thus adapting it to fit snugly against 
the floret next above it in -the spikelet. The empty 
glumes, the floral glumes, and the palets constitute 
the ' ' chaff. ' ' In reading what follows it is well to 
refer frequently to Fig. 53, otherwise this description 
will be meaningless to those not familiar with the study 
of botany. The ovary is the part that afterward 
develops into the grain or seed. But no seed could be 
formed were it not for the anthers. 

It will be seen in the figure that at the top of the 
ovary there are two large feather-like projections. 
These are the styles. Over a portion of the surface of 
the style the skin is missing, the bare flesh of the 
style being exposed to the air. This bare area is 
called the stigma. At a certain stage in the develop- 
ment of the flower the stigma is covered with a 
gummy substance which is of great importance in the 
economy of the flower. 

Let us now turn to the anthers, of which the blue- 
grass flower has three. When ripe these anthers are 
filled with exceedingly small, round, yellowish bodies 
called pollen grains. About the time the gummy sub- 
stance appears on the stigma the anthers burst and a 
shower of pollen falls. When one of the pollen grains 
strikes on the stigma it sticks there. (See p, Fig. 54). 
This gum seems to adt as a sort of stimulus to the pol- 
len grain, for the grain soon sends out a slender rootlet 
(pollen tube, pt. Fig. 54,) which grows down into 
the flesh of the stigma much the same as a root grows 
down into the soil. Now there is down in the ovary a 



FIG. 52 — A PANICLE 



240 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

little body which is in many respects a counterpart of 
a pollen grain, and which is called an ovule (e, Fig. 54) . 
The rootlet from the pollen grain continues to 
grow down through the substance of the stigma and 
the ovary until it finds the ovule. It seems to be 
guided in some unknown way to the very point where 
the ovule is found. As soon as the rootlet (pollen 
tube) touches the ovule, some small particles of living 
matter in the tube (r, Fig. 54,) pass through he wall 
of the tube and enter the ovule. What occurs then in 
the ovule would take many pages to tell. Suffice it to 
say that one. of the living particles from the pollen tube 
unites with a very similar particle in the ovule, and the 
two then begin to grow and a seed is formed. The 
little particle in the ovule cannot grow unless it unites 
with the similar particle from the pollen tube. It is 
frequently the case that ears of corn on the west side 
of a field have grains missing. This is due to the fact 
that while the pollen was falling the wind blew most 
of it away, and some of the hairs of the silk (these 
hairs are the styles) had no pollen grains light on their 
stigmas. 

In some grass flowers the styles protrude from the 
flowers before the anthers do. When in this stage a 
grass is popularly said to be in its first bloom. In 
those that protrude their anthers first, or at the same 
time with their styles, before the anthers burst they are 
said to be in their first bloom. Later, when the an- 
thers have shed their pollen, and hang limp on their 
slender filaments, the plant is said to be in second bloom. 
Most of the coarser grasses make the best hay if cut in 
their second bloom — that is, when they are just going 



242 FARM GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 

out of blossom. It is believed by many that if a grass 
is cut for hay when it is shedding its pollen that the hay 
is inferior in quality, because of the presence of the 
pollen dust. How much truth there is in this notion 
is not known. Recent investigations indicate that the 
pollen of some of the grasses, when breathed into the 
nostrils, causes hay-fever, a disease in which the mucus 
membrane of the nasal passages is much inflamed. It 
is possible that pollen dust in hay may cause some 
trouble in the nasal passages of horses and cattle. 

After the pollen falls on the stigma, and sends its 
thread-like tube down through the substance of the 
style and the ovary to the ovule, the seed at once be- 
gins to develop. The time required for the develop- 
ment of the seed varies with different grasses from a 
few days to several weeks. In the common hay grasses 
it is about ten days or two weeks. At first the sub- 
stance of the seed is watery in appearance. Just be- 
fore it reaches its full size it becomes milky. At this 
time the seed is said to be " in the milk." If the hay 
is cut when the seed is in the milk, some of the seed 
usually matures sufficiently to grow. This is impor- 
tant in the case of weedy grasses, like Johnson grass 
and quack-grass. These should never be left till the 
milk stage is reached. When the milk-like substance 
of the seed begins to harden, the seed is popularly said 
to be " in the dough. ' ' Most seeds will grow readih' 
if the whole plant is cut at this stage, though they will 
hardly mature properly if the seed is removed from the 
plant in the dough stage. Very few grasses make good 
hay if cut after the seed is fully mature. 



INDEX 



The technical names in this Index are those which have been most 
generally used. They are inserted to enable those not familiar with the 
popular names to recognize the plants discussed in the text. 



PAGE 

Adulteration of seeds 68-69 

Aftermath, Grazing of 40-41 

Agropyron diver gens. See 

Bunch-grass 
Agropyron occidentale. See 

Bluestem. 
Agropyron repens. See Ouack- 

grass. 

.Agropyron spicatum. Same as 

A. divergens. 
Agropyron tenerum. See Slender 

Wheat Grass. 
Agrostis alba. See Redtop. 
Agrostis canina. See Rhode 

Island Bent. 
Agrostis stolonif era. See Creep- 
ing Bent. 
Alfalfa (Medicago saliva), Area 

of 11, 12 

Distribution of 11 

hay on Western markets 219 

in Red River Valley 4 

Longevity of 14,42 

on alkali soils 198 

on wheat lands of eastern 

Washington 9 

Turkestan 234 

with Johnson grass 142 

yield 11, 12 

Alkali soils, Grasses for 197-199 

Alopecurus pratensis. See 

Meadow Foxtail. 
Alsike Clover (Trifolium hvbri- 

dum) 150, 193 

Ammophila arenaria. See 

Beach-grass. 
Andropogon virginicus. See 

Broom-sedge. 
Arctic Grass. See Rescue-grass. 
Arrhenatherum avenaceum. See 

Tall Oat-grass. 
Atlantic Coast, Lawn grasses for 201 
Atriplex semibaccata. See Aus- 
tralian Salt-bush. 
Australian Salt-bush for alkali 

lands 198 

Avena fatua. See Wild Oats. 

Baling Hay 39-40 



PAGE 

Barley, for pasture 45-46 

for hay 9 

Barn-yard Grass (Panicum crus- 

galli) 103, 116-118 

for wet lands 194 

Beach-grass {Ammophila are- 
naria ) 194 

Beardless Barley, for hay 9 

Bent Grasses. See Redtbp. 

Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dacty- 

lon) .' 125-13T 

common names 125 

curing for hay 131 

distribution 128 

extermination 131-134 

for hay 130-131 

for pasture 43. 129-130 

for lawns 201, 202 

history 125, 126 

longevity 14, 42 

Management of 131 

seed, Price of 135 

seed, Reliability of 135 

seeding 135-136 

Stage to cut 34 

winter companions. . . 136-137, 202 

Bitterweed in Southern pas- 
tures 51 

Blue-grass (Poa pratensis).. . 90-102 

Advantages of 90 

common names 92 

Disadvantages of 92 

distribution 93-96 

for lawns 101, 200, 201 

hay. See Blue-grass Hay. 

in New England 100 

in the Pacific Northwest 101 

longevity 14, 42 

on timothy and clover sod. . 15, 17 

on waste lands 100 

pasture. See Blue-grass Pas- 
tures. 

seed, Curing 98 

seed, Harvesting 61. 63 

seed, production 93 

seed. Quality of 98 

seeding, Method of 15, 17. 99 

seeding rate 99 

varieties 232 



243 



244 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Blue-grass Hay, Quality of . . . 90, 96 

Stage to cut 34 

yield 93, 9G 

Blue-grass Pastures 43, 96-101 

Bluestem (Agropyron occiden- 
tals) 189, 190 

compared with timothy 88 

hay, rated on Western mar- 
kets... 219 

" Bottom " Grasses 150 

Brome-grass (Bromus inermis) 

164-175 

distribution 164-168 

hay 168-169 

hay. Stage to cut . . . 33-34, 168-169 

in Eastern States 165-168 

in the Pacific Northwest 9, 164-168 

longevity 14 

pasture 43, 168 

pasture with alfalfa 47, 168 

popular names 171 

seed, Native vs. imported. 170-171 

seeding 170 

seed production 169-171 

varieties 232, 233 

Bromus carinatus 173 

inermis. See Brome-grass. 

marginatus 173 

secalinus. See Cheat. 
unioloides. See Rescue-grass. 

Broom-corn Millets {Panicum 
miliaceum) 114-116 

Broom-sedge {Andropogon vir- 
ginicus) 51 

Buffalo-grass (Bulbilis dacty- 
loides) for lawns 200 

Bunch-grass (Agropyron diver- 
gens) 187 

Canada Blue-grass (Poa com- 

pressa) 101-102 

for lawns 200, 201, 203 

name incorrectly used 176 

Canada Thistle (Cnicus arvensis), 
Effect of millet on 108 

Canada Field Pea 11 

Carpet-grass {Panicum com- 

pressum) 185 

distribution 188 

for lawns 203 

Cereals, for hay 9, 10 

for pasture 43, 45-46 

Chcetochloa sp. See Foxtail 
Millets. 

Cheat (Bromus secalinus) 173 

Chess. Same as Cheat. 

Clover, Area of N . 12 

crops per year 87 

seeding 15, 82-87 

yield rv 12 

Cnicus arvensis. See Canada 
Thistle. 



PAGE 

Coarseness as related to feed 

value 159 

Cock'sfoot. See Orchard-grass. 
Colorado Grass (Panicum tex- 

anum) 118-119 

Commercial fertilizers, made 
necessary by system of 

farming 4 

for grass lands 21, 53-55 

Common Millet Ill, 112 

Cotton as a pasture plant 43 

Cow-peas ( Vigna, sinensis), 10, 11 , 107 
Crab-grass (Panicum sangui- 

nale) 1&5-186 

Creeping Bent (Agrostis stoloni- 

fera). for lawns 205 

Curing hay 34-37 

Cynodon dactylon. See Ber- 
muda Grass. 
Cutting hay. See Hay. 

Dactyl is glomerata. See Or- 
chard-grass. 

Distichlis maritima. See Salt- 
grass. 

Dry lands, Grasses for 197 

Elym us condensatus. See Giant 
Rye-grass. 

English Blue-grass (Festuca 
pratensis) 176 

English Rye-grass (Lolium 

perenne) 179-181 

failure in timothy region 16 

importance in Europe 16 

Erigeron strigosus. See White- 
weed. 

European grasses in United 
States 16 

Fads, Grass 232-235 

Fern, weed on the Pacific Coast. 52 

Fertilizers, effect on weeds 49 

for lawns 214-215 

(See also Commercial Fertiliz- 
ers and Manures.) 

Fescues, for lawns 203 

Festuca australis, for lawns 203 

duriuscida, for lawns 203 

heterophylla, for lawns 203 

ovina, for lawns 203 

pratensis. See Meadow-fescue. 
pratensis var. elatior. See 
Tall Fescue. 

rubra, for lawns 203 

tenuifolia, for lawns 203 

Flowers of the grasses 236-242 

Forage crops, Area of 11 

Distribution of 11 

Fowl Meadow-grass (Poa sero- 

tina) 150, 193-194 

Foxtail Millets (Choetochloa sp.) 

111-114 



INDEX 



245 



PAGE 

German Millet Ill, 113 

Giant Rye-grass (Ely mas con- 

densatus) 198, 199 

Grade of hay— effect on sale of 

hay 220 

Grades of hay 217-220 

Grain hay. area 9 

distribution 10 

grades 219 

Grapevines for pasture 43 

Grass, denned 1 

Grass crop, distribution and 

area 3 

Grass fads 232-234 

Grass flower 236-242 

Grasses for special conditions. 

192-199 

for alkali soils 197-199 

for dry lands 197 

for lawns 200-205 

for sandy lands 194-196 

for wet lands 193-194 

Green manuring 20-21 

Guinea-grass (Panicum maxi- 
mum) 190-191 

name incorrectly used 137 

Hay, Area of in United States. . 2 
Color of, relation to quality. . 35 

Curing 34-37 

Grades of 217-220 

measuring in stack 220-224 

price, how fixed, 88, 169 

Stacking and baling 37-40 

Stage to cut 30-34 

value of crop. 2 

Hay and forage, Per cent, of im- 
proved land devoted to 3 

Herd's-grass (timothy in New 
England, and Redtop in 
Middle and South Atlantic 
States). 

Holcus lanatus. See Velvet- 
gross. 

Hopkins, Dr. A. D.. Improve- 
ment of timothy by 229-231 

Hungarian Grass Ill, 113 

Improved land, Area of. in 

United States 1 

Improvement of Grasses 226-232 

Italian Rj-e-grass (Lolium 

italicum) 179, 181-182 

for lawns 204 

for lawns, with Bermuda 201 

importance in Europe 16 

failure in timothy region 16 

stage to cut for hay 34 

Japanese Millets (Panicum 
crus-galU) 116-118 



PAGE 

Johnson Grass (Sorghum hale- 

pense) 137-145 

distribution 144-145 

eradication 141 

hay. Stage to cut 32, 33 

hay. Value of 139 

longevity 14 

meadow. Management of 143 

moisture, relation to 144 

pasture 41, 143 

soils, relation to 4, 144-145 

seed, weight 143 

seeding, rate 143 

seeding, time 143-144 

weedy character 49. 137 

with alfalfa 142 

Junciis balticus. See South Park 
Hay. 

June Grass. Same as Blue- 
grass. 

Kafir Corn. Distribution of 11 

Kentucky Blue-grass. Same as 

Blue-grass. 
Korean Lawn-grass ( Osterda m ia 

matrella) 201, 202-203 

Large Water-grass {Paspalum 
dilatation) 189-190. 194 

Lawn-grasses for Atlantic States 201 

for Northern States 200-201 

for Southern States 201 

Lawn-making 206-211 

Lawns and Lawn-niaking.. . 200-216 

Lawns, Fertilizing 214-215 

Mowing 211-212 

Renovating 216 

Rolling 214 

Watering 212-214 

Weeding 215-216 

Leckenby. A. B.. Improvement 
of grasses by 230-232 

Lime, effect on sorrel 49 

for curing hay 36 

Lolium italicum. See Italian 
Rye-grass 

Lolium perenne. See English 
Rye-grass. 

Lucern. Same as Alfalfa. 

Manure for grass lands 15, 52-55 

Marram Grass. Same as Beach 
Grass. 

Meadow-fescue (Festuca pra- 
te Jisis) 176-178 

Adaptability of 21 

Importance of , 16 

weight of seed 178 

Meadow-foxtail [Alopecunu 

pratensis) 16 

Meadows' grazing the after- 
math 40-41 

t time to keep down 42 



246 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Meadows and pastures 14-55 

longevity 14-15, 42-43 

Management of 15-18 

Manuring 15, 52-55 

nurse crop 28-29 

preparation of soil 18-22 

seeding 22-30 

Weeds in 48-52 

Mean's Grass. Sa)ne as John- 
son Grass. 

Measuring hay in stack 220-224 

Medicago sativa. S?e Alfalfa. 

Millet as soiling crop 109 

in rotation with lye 106 

pasture 109 

preparation of soil 107 

seed, Yield of 110 

weight... 110 

as feed ' 110-111 

seeding, rate 109-110 

soils, relation to 107 

Millet disease , . 122-124 

Millet hay, Curing 108 

Harvesting 110 

Stage to cut 108-109 

value of 119-124 

Millets 103- 124 

Broom-corn {Panicum mili- 

aceum) 103, 114-116 

Foxtail (Choztocldoa sp.) 

103, 111-114 
Japanese {Panicum crus-galli), 

103, 116-118 
Texas {Panicum texanum), 

103, 118-119 

Millets and Hungarian Grasses, 

area 11, 12 

distribution. . . '. 11, 104, 105 

yield , 12 

Mixtures, Amount of each kind 

of seed in 23 

European idea of 150-151 

for Middle south - 21 

for wet lands 150. 193-194 

with timothy 82-87 

Northern States, Lawn grasses 

for 200-201 

Nurse crop 15. 17, 28-29, 84 

Oats, for hay 10 

for pasture 45 

Orchard-grass (Dactylis glome- 

rata) 154-163 

adaptability 21 

distribution 160-162 

feed value 158 

importance 16 

longevity 14, 159 

pasture 158-159 

seed, production 156 

seed, weight 162 

seed, vield 162-1&3 



PACE 

Orchard-grass, seeding, rate — 163 

sod, Character of 157-1.58 

Stage to cut 33, 157 

with red clover 158 

Osterdamia matrella. See Ko- 
rean Lawn- grass. 

" Other tame grasses," defined. 7 

area 12 

yield 12 

Panicle, defined 236 

illustrated 239 

Panicum ccmpressum. See Car- 
pet-grass. 
crus-galli. See Barn-yard 
Grass and Japanese Millets. 
maximum . See Guinea Grass. 
miliaceum. See Broom-corn 

Millets. 
molle. See Para Grass. 
sanguinale. See Crab-grass. 
te.ra n urn . See Colorado Grass. 
Para grass (Panicum molle), 190-191 
Paspalumdilatatum. See Large 

Water-grass. 
Pasture lands, Area of. in United 

States 2 

Pasture Mixtures 46-4S, 178 

Pastures. See also Meadows and 
Pastures and references un- 
der individual grasses 43-4^ 

crops used 43 

on waste lands 47 

Tendency to dispense v\hh. 

16, 43-44 

Pasturing, Best method of 44-45 

in wet weather 46 

Pearl millet (Pennisetum spica- 
tum) 234-235 

Pencillaria. Same as Pearl Mil- 
let, 

Pennisetum spieatum. See Pearl 
Millet. 

PhJeum pratense. See Timothy. 

Plantain (Plantago sp.l 51 

Poa arachnifera. See Texas 
Blue grass. 
compressa. See Canada Blue- 
grass. 

macrantha. See Seaside Blue- 
grass. 

ne moral is. Se e Wood Meadow- 
grass. 

pratensis. See Blue-grass. 
serotina. See Fowl Meadow- 
grass. 

trivialis. See Rough stalked 
Meadow-grass. 
Polygonum sachalinense. See 
Sachaline. 

Ouack-grass (Agropyron repens) 

49, 50, 108 



INDEX 



247 



PAGE 

Rate of seeding. See Seeding, 
rate. 

Ray-grass. Same as Rye-grass. 

origin of name 181 

Red clover [Trifolium prate use). 

14. 15. IT 

{See also Clover.) 

Redtop ( Agrostis alba 146-154 

adaptability 21 

distribution 146. 149 

effect on grades of hay 148 

Forms of 153 

hav. Value of 148 

in the Middle South 151-152 

in New England 151-152 

lawns 200-201. 205 

longevity 14 

on wet lands. 150. 193 

pastures 153 

seed 153 

seed, weight of 153 

seed, where grown 146 

seeding, rate 153 

soils, relation to 146. 14S-149 

with timothy 85 

Rescue-grass {Bromus uni- 

oloides) 173 

Rhode Island Bent {Agrostis 

can ina) 205 

Rotation for Middle South 21 

Rough-stalked meadow-grass 

(Poa trivialis) for lawns 204 

Rye 45 

Rye-grasses I Lol in m sp ) — 179-182 
Rumex acetoseUa. See sorrel. 

Sachaline. a fad 234 

St. Augustine Grass (Stenota- 
phrum dimidiatum). 196. 201. 202 

St. Lucie Grass 134-135. 201, 202 

Salt, added to hay in stacking. . 36 
Salt-grass {Distichlis maritima) 199 

Sandy lands. Grasses for 194-196 

Seaside blue-grass (Poa mac- 

rantha) 195. 196 

Seed-bed. Preparation of. IS, 206-211 

Seed control 70-72 

Seed formation 236-242 

Seed habits, effect on value. 224-226 

Seeding 22-30.207-210 

cost of. with different grasses. 

60-64 

covering the seed 29-30 

lawus 207-210 

Machines for 27-28 

Manner of 27-28 

Rate of, conditions govern- 
ing 24-25 

Sowing the seed 26-27 

Time to sow. 26-27 

Seed production 56-60 

distribution of 57 

localization of 156 



PAGE 

Seed Testing 22, 70-74 

Seeds 56-74 

Adulteration of 68-69 

Cost of 60-64 

Guaranteed . . 69-70 

how to get tested 22 

number per pound 70 

of standard grasses, ill'd 58, 59 

of weeds, illustrated 65,68 

testing 22. 70-74 

weight per bushel 64-65 

Slender wheat grass [Agrdpyron 

tenerum) 187 

Southern States. Lawn grasses 

for 201 

Soiling vs. Pasturing 16 

Sorghum, Distribution of 11 

Uses 11 

Sorghum halepense. See John- 
son Grass. 

Sorrel {Rumex acetoseUa) 49 

South Park Hav [Juneus bal- 

ticus) 88. 220 

Spike 236. 237 

Spikelet 236. 237 

Stacking hay 34-39 

Stenotaphrum dimidiatum. See 

St. Augustine Grass. 
Subsoiling 19 

Tall Fescue {Festuca pratensis 

elatior) 176-178 

Tall Oat-grass (Arrhenatherum 

avenaceum) 14, 21. 182-183 

Tall Meadow Oat-grass. Same 

as Tall Oat-grass. 

Terracing 4 

Texas Blue-grass {Poa arach- 

n if era) 102 

Texas Millet. Same as Colorado 

Grass 

Timothy. {Phleum pratense) 

75-89 

Area of. in United States 7 

Distribution of 7. 78-82 

for wet lands 193 

hav. Stage to cut 32. 87-88 

hay. Value of 87-^8 

importance 14. 16, 75 

longevity 14 

pasture 41,88 

popularity of, cause 75-78 

seed. Low price of 62 

seed, 1l ield of 89 

seed habits 75 

seeding 15, 17, 82-87 

yield 7, 87 

varieties 229-231 

Timothy and Clover Meadows 

as pastures 15 

longevity.... 15,17,87 

Management of 15 

Manuring 15,17,52-55 



248 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Timothy and Clover Meadows 
precede corn in rotations — 17 

seeding 15, 17, 82-87 

yield 17,87 

Timothy region defined 7 

" Top " grasses 150 

Trifolium hybridum. See Alsike 
Clover. 
pratense. See Red Clover. 
repens. See White Clover. 

Turfing 211 

Turkestan Alfalfa 234 

Velvet-grass (Holcus lanatus), 

183-185, 196 
Vigna sinensis. See Cow-peas. 

Waste land as pasture 48 

Weeding lawns...* 215-216 



PAGE 

Weed seeds 65-68 

Weeds in meadows and pas- 
tures , . , 48-52 

in lawns 215 

W 7 et lands, Grasses for 193-194 

W T heat Hay 9, 219 

White Clover ( Trifolium repens) 101 
Whiteweed (Erigeron strigosus) 49 

Wild hay 12. 13 

Wild Oat Hay 9, 32. 219 

Stage to cut 32 

Wild Rice (Zizauia aquatica I... 194 
Winter Cereals, Distinctive 
character of 46 

for pastures 45, 46 

Wood Meadow-grass (Poanemo- 
ralis) 204 

Zizania aquatica. See Wild 
Rice. 



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fruit grower can afford to be without this most valuable book. Illus- 
trated. 232 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. $1.00. 

American Grape Growing and Wine Making 

By George Husmann, of California. New and enlarged edition. 
With contributions from well-known grape growers, giving wide 
range of experience. The author of this book is a recognized author- 
ity on the subject. Illustrated. 269 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. $1.50. 

The American Sugar Industry 

By Herbert Myrick. A practical manual on the production of 
Sugar Beets and Sugar Cane, and on the manufacture of Sugar there- 
from. A handbook for the farmer, manufacturer, statesman, or stu- 
dent. This book is the only complete up-to-date epitome of this new 
and promising industry. It covers just the points that every one in- 
terested wants to know about. It illustrates and describes the newest 
model sugar mills. It gives the results of the latest experience in 
promoting and operating sugar factories. It shows just how to es- 
tablish the industry in any given locality. Illustrated. 10x7 inches. 
240 pages, cloth. $1.50. 



Market Gardening and Farm Notes. 

By Burnett I^andreth. Experiences and observation for both 
North and South, of interest to the amateur gardener, trucker and 
fanner. A novel feature of the book is the calendar of farm and 
garden operations for each month of the year; the chapters on fertil- 
izers,, transplanting, succession and rotation of crops, the packing, 
shipping, and marketing of vegetables will be especially useful to 
market gardeners. Cloth, i2tno. $1.00. 

The Nut Culturist. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. A treatise on the propagation, planting 
and cultivation of nut-bearing trees and shrubs adapted to the cli- 
mate of the United States, with the scientific and common names of 
the fruits known in commerce as edible or otherwise useful nuts. 
Intended to aid the farmer to increase his income without adding to 
his expenses or labor. Cloth, i2mo. $1.50. 

Greenhouse Management. 

By Iy. R. Taft. This book forms an almost indispensable compan- 
ion volume to " Greenhouse Construction." In it the author gives 
the results of his many years' experience, together with that of the 
most successful florists and gardeners, in the management of grow- 
ing plants under glass. So minute and practical are the various 
systems and methods of growing and forcing roses, violets, carna- 
tions, an 1 all the most important florists' plants, as well as fruits 
and vegetables described, that by a careful study of this work and 
the following of its teachings, failure is almost impossible. Illus- 
trated. Cloth, i2mo. $1.50. 

Bulbs and Tuberous-Rooted Plants. 

By C. Iy. Allen. A complete history, description, methods of prop- 
agation and full directions for the successful culture of bulbs in the 
garden, dwelling or greenhouse. The illustrations which embellish 
this work have been drawn from nature, and have been engraved 
especially for this book. The cultural directions are plainly stated, 
practical and to the point. Cloth, i2tno. $1.50. 

Ornamental Gardening for Americans. 

By Klias A. I,ong, landscape architect. A treatise on beautifying 
homes, rural districts and cemeteries. A plain and practical work, 
with numerous illustrations and instructions so plain that they may 
be readily followed. Illustrated. Cloth, i2mo. $1.50. 

The American Merino. For Wool or for Mutton. 

By Stephen Powers. A practical and most valuable work on the 
selection, care, breeding, and diseases of the Merino sheep, in all sec- 
tions of the United States. It is a full and exhaustive treatise upon 
this one breed of sheep. Cloth, i2mo. $1.50. 

The Hop— Its Culture and Care, Marketing and Manufac- 
ture. 

By Herbert Myrick. A practical handbook on the most approved 
methods in growing, harvesting, curing and selling hops, and on the 
use and manufacture of hops. The result of years of research and 
observation, it is a volume destined to be an authority on this crop 
for many years to come. It takes up every detail from preparing the 
soil and laying out the yard, to curing and selling the crop. Every 
line represents the ripest judgment and experience of experts. Size, 
5x8; pages, 300; illustrations, nearly 150; bound in cloth and gold; 
price $1.50, postpaid. 



Irrigation Farming 

By I+tjte Wilcox. A handbook for the practical application of 
water in the production of crops. A complete treatise on water 
supply, canal construction, reservoirs and ponds, pipes for irrigation 
purposes, flumes and their structure, methods of applying water, irri- 
gation of field crops, the garden, the orchard and vineyard; wind- 
mills and pumps, appliances and contrivances. Illustrated. Gloth. 
5 x 8 inches. $1.50. 

The New Rhubarb Culture 

By T. E. Morse and G. B. Fiske. A complete guide to dark forcing 
and field culture. Illustrated. 5x8 inches, about 112 pages. Cloth. 
50 cents. 

The New Egg Farm 

By H. H. Stoddard. A practical, reliable manual upon producing 
eggs and poultry for market as a profitable business enterprise, 
either by itself or connected with other branches of agriculture. It 
tells all about how to feed and manage, how to breed and select, 
incubators and brooders, labor-saving devices, etc., etc. i2mo, 331 
pages. 140 original illustrations. Cloth. $1.00. 

Turkeys and How to Grow Them 

Edited by Herbert Myrick. A treatise on the natural history and 
origin of the name of turkey ; the various breeds, the best methods 
to insure success in the business of turkey growing. With essays 
from practical turkey-growers in different parts of the United States 
and Canada. Illustrated. Cloth, i2mo. $1.00. 

Tobacco Leaf 

By J. B. Killebrew and Herbert Myrick. Its culture and cure, 
marketing and manufacture. A practical handbook on the most 
approved methods in growing, harvesting, curing, packing, and 
selling tobacco, with an account of the operations in every depart- 
ment of tobacco manufacture. Upwards of 500 pages and 150 original 
engravings. $2.00. 

Handbook of the Turf 

By Samuel T,. Boardman. A treasury of information for horsemen, 
embracing a compendium of all racing and trotting rules; laws of 
the states in their relation to horses and racing; a glossary of scien- 
tific terms; the catchwords and phrases used by great drivers, with 
miscellaneous information about horses, tracks, and racing. Cloth, 
i2mo. $1.00. 

American Grape-Growing and Wine-Making 

By George Husmann. New and enlarged edition. With contribu- 
tions from well-known grape-growers, giving wide range of experi- 
ence. Illustrated. 5x8 inches, 277 pages. Cloth. $1.50. 

The Fruit Garden 

By P. Barry. A standard work on fruit and fruit trees, the author 
having had over thirtv years' practical experience at the head of one' 
of the largest nurseries in this country. Invaluable to all fruit 
growers. Illustrated. Cloth, i2mo. $1.50. 

Small Fruit Culturist 

By Andrew S. Fuller. The book covers the whole ground ot 
propagating small fruits, their culture, varieties, packing for market 
etc. Illustrated. 5x8 inches. Cloth. $1.00. 

Gardening for Profit 

By Peter Henderson. The standard work on market and family 
gardening. The successful experience of the author for more than 
thirty years, and his willingness to tell, as he does in this work, the 
secret of his success for the benefit of others, enables him to give 
most valuable information. The book is profusely illustrated. Cloth, 
i2mo. $1.50. 



Farmer's Cyclopedia 
of Agriculture ig » 

A Compendium of Agricultural Science and Praclice 
on Farm, Orchard and Garden Crops, and the 
Feeding and Diseases of Farm Animals 

"By EARLEY VERNON WILCOX, Ph.D. 
and CLARENCE BEAMAN SMITH, M.S. 

Associate Editors in the Office of Experiynent Stations, United States 
Department of Agriculture 



This is a new, practical, and complete pres- 
entation of the whole subject of agricul- 
ture in its broadest sense. It is designed 
for the use of agriculturists who de- 
sire up-to-date, reliable information on 
all matters pertaining to crops and stock, but 
more particularly for the actual farmer. The 
volume contains 

Detailed directions for the culture of every 
important field, orchard, and garden crop 

grown in America, together with descriptions of 
their chief insect pests and fungous diseases, and 
remedies for their control. It contains an ac- 
count of modern methods in feeding and handling 
all farm stock, including poultry. The diseases 
which affect different farm animals and poultry 
are described, and the most recent remedies sug- 
gested for controlling them. 

Every bit of this vast mass of new and useful 
information is authoritative, practical, and easily 
found, and no effort has been spared to include 
all desirable details. There are between 6,000 
and 7,000 topics covered in these references, and 
it contains 700 royal 8vo pages and nearly 500 
suberb half-tone and other original illustrations, 
making the most perfect Cyclopedia of Agricul- 
ture ever attempted. 

Handsomely bound in cloth, £3.50; half morocco 
{'Very sumptuous , £4-. 50, postpaid 



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